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Benjamin Netanyahu has noted that the first phase of the United Nations-backed Gaza halt in hostilities proposal is nearing finalization, and added that the second phase must require the disarmament of Hamas.

Forthcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli prime minister said he would discuss the following stages in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were outlined in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

“We’re about to conclude the first phase,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to guarantee that we secure the equivalent results in the next phase, and that’s something I anticipate discussing with President Trump.”

European Leader Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a shared news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who commented: “The second phase must begin now and then phase three must also be examined.”

Merz is the initial leader of a leading European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court issued warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his former 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 indicated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a trip was not presently planned. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “fabricated allegations” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Terms of the Current Truce

During the first phase of the present ceasefire agreement, Hamas freed the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 remains of hostages who died during the war. Concurrently, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, leaving them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have been responsible for the deaths of over 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas military actions over the identical timeframe.

Future Stages and Ambiguous Sequencing

Neither Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, detailed a timetable extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to pull back further, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be created under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian committee to run daily governance of Gaza.

The sequencing of these measures is not clear in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.

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

Potential Alternatives and Political Positions

Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a topic of “discussion”, and reiterated that Israel was strongly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process desired by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Warrants and Legal Cases

Netanyahu said 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 shifting focus from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any misconduct, but stepped down from his role in May awaiting the conclusion of an investigation.

Netanyahu said Khan was “harming the standing of the ICC” with “trumped-up allegations of deprivation and acts of genocide” from a “compromised prosecutor”.

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

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