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Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the initial part of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire agreement is close to finalization, and added that the subsequent stage must entail the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli prime minister said he would discuss the following stages in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were outlined in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November.

“We are nearing complete the initial phase,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to guarantee that we attain the equivalent outcomes in the second stage, and that’s something I am eager to reviewing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a joint press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who commented: “The second phase must begin now and then phase three must also be taken into account.”

Merz is the first head of state of a significant European state to meet Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had indicated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a visit was not at this time under consideration. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “fabricated allegations” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Details of the Current Ceasefire

Under the initial stage of the present ceasefire agreement, Hamas freed the last 20 living Israeli hostages in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 bodies of hostages who died during the war. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a truce line, leaving them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.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 approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas attacks over the same period.

Next Steps and Ambiguous Sequencing

Neither Trump’s suggestions, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, specified a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to withdraw farther, and an international stabilization force is to be set up under the control of a “peace board” of world leaders led by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian council to run daily administration of Gaza.

The order of these measures is ambiguous in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed Hamas disarmament.

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

Potential Options and Political Stances

Netanyahu mentioned the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli annexation of the West Bank, describing it as a topic of “debate”, and stressed that Israel was adamantly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process desired by most European and Arab capitals as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

ICC Warrants and Judicial Cases

Netanyahu said the reason he would not be able to make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he described as invented by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a way of diverting attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but recused himself from his role in May awaiting the conclusion of an inquiry.

Netanyahu asserted Khan was “destroying the reputation of the ICC” with “trumped-up charges of deprivation and acts of genocide” from a “compromised prosecutor”.

A separate tribunal, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is considering charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission determined that Israel had committed genocide.

Questioned about the possibility of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz told reporters on Sunday: “There is no reason to discuss this at the current juncture.”