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Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the opening segment of the UN-endorsed Gaza truce framework is nearing completion, and added that the next phase must include the demilitarization of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli premier stated he would examine the subsequent actions in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were outlined in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

“We are close to conclude the first stage,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to make sure that we achieve the identical objectives in the second phase, and that’s something I am eager to discussing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was speaking at a shared press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Phase two must come now and then the third phase 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 (ICC) delivered arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had stated he would invite Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a trip was not at this time being considered. Netanyahu rejects the warrants as “trumped-up charges” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Terms of the Current Ceasefire

During the initial stage of the current ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the last 20 living 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 occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was declared on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas attacks over the identical period.

Next Steps and Ambiguous Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, specified a timetable extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to pull back further, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be established under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian council to run day-to-day administration of Gaza.

The sequencing of these measures is ambiguous in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his statements on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s vital to make sure that Hamas abides not only with the ceasefire, but also with their pledge which they agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarized,” he said.

Potential Options and Political Positions

Netanyahu mentioned the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli annexation of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “debate”, and emphasized that Israel was adamantly against the establishment of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process desired by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Warrants and Legal Proceedings

Netanyahu said the reason he would not be able make a reciprocal visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he described as invented by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of diverting attention from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any misconduct, but recused himself from his role in May pending the outcome of an investigation.

Netanyahu said Khan was “destroying the standing of the ICC” with “trumped-up charges of deprivation and genocide” from a “compromised official”.

Another tribunal, the international court of justice, is considering charges that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent investigative commission determined that Israel had committed genocide.

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