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Benjamin Netanyahu has commented that the first part of the United Nations-backed Gaza truce proposal is nearing finalization, adding that the subsequent phase must require the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli premier revealed he would address the following stages in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were codified in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November.

“We’re about to complete the first stage,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to guarantee that we attain the equivalent results in the second stage, and that’s something I am eager to addressing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was addressing the media at a shared press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Phase two must come now and then stage three must also be considered.”

Merz is the first head of state of a leading European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court delivered warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his ex- defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity allegations in Gaza.

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had said he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a visit was not currently planned. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “baseless allegations” from a “biased prosecuting office”.

Terms of the Ongoing Truce

Under the initial stage of the present ceasefire agreement, Hamas freed the final 20 surviving Israeli captives in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 bodies of hostages killed during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have pulled back to a truce line, leaving them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was put into effect on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas military actions over the same timeframe.

Future Stages and Ambiguous Timeline

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly supported them, specified a timetable extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is required to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to retreat more, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be established under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders led by Trump, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian committee to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The sequencing of these actions is vague in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu focused on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s important to ensure that Hamas complies not only with the ceasefire, but also with their commitment which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he asserted.

Possible Options and Political Stances

Netanyahu raised the possibility of “alternatives” to the ISF, without elaborating on what those might be. He would not dismiss Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “discussion”, and emphasized that Israel was firmly against the establishment of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process supported by most European and Arab governments as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Legal Cases

Netanyahu stated the reason he would not be able to make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as invented by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a way of diverting attention from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any wrongdoing, but stepped down from his role in May awaiting the outcome of an inquiry.

Netanyahu asserted Khan was “destroying the reputation of the ICC” with “trumped-up allegations of starvation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

A separate tribunal, the international court of justice, is considering charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission concluded that Israel had carried out genocide.

Questioned about the prospect of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz told reporters on Sunday: “There is little cause to discuss this at the present time.”