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Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the initial part of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire framework is approaching completion, noting that the subsequent stage must entail the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli leader stated he would talk about the next steps later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were formalized in a UN Security Council decision on 17 November.

“We are nearing finish the initial stage,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to make sure that we secure the same outcomes in the next phase, and that’s something I look forward to discussing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was speaking at a shared media briefing with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Stage two must come now and then phase three must also be considered.”

Merz is the first leader of a leading European state to confer with Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) released 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 said he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a trip was not currently planned. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “fabricated charges” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Terms of the Current Ceasefire

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

Since the ceasefire was put into effect on 10 October, Israeli forces have been responsible for the deaths of more than 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas military actions over the identical period.

Future Stages and Unclear Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, detailed a schedule transitioning the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are meant 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, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian committee to run daily administration of Gaza.

The order of these steps is unclear 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 stated.

Possible Options and Political Stances

Netanyahu mentioned the possibility of “alternatives” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a subject of “discussion”, and emphasized that Israel was adamantly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the goal of the peace process supported by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Charges and Legal Cases

Netanyahu stated the reason he would not be able make a reciprocal visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he described as fabricated by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a way of diverting attention from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any wrongdoing, but stepped aside 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 genocide” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Another tribunal, the international court of justice, is reviewing charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission found that Israel had committed genocide.

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