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Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the opening segment of the UN-endorsed Gaza halt in hostilities plan is close to completion, and added that the subsequent phase must involve the disarmament of Hamas.

Forthcoming Discussions in Washington

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

“We are close to finish the first stage,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to guarantee that we secure the identical outcomes in the next stage, and that’s something I look forward to addressing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was addressing the media at a shared press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who stated: “Stage two must start immediately and then phase three must also be taken into account.”

Merz is the first leader of a significant European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) released 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 in Gaza.

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had indicated he would invite Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a visit was not presently planned. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “baseless allegations” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Details of the Current Truce

During the initial stage of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the remaining 20 living Israeli captives in return 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. At the same time, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a demarcation line, leaving them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

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

Next Steps and Ambiguous Sequencing

Neither Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, detailed a schedule transitioning the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to withdraw farther, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be set up under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian council to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The sequencing of these measures 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 vital to make sure that Hamas abides not only with the ceasefire, but also with their obligation which they agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he said.

Possible Alternatives and Political Positions

Netanyahu mentioned the possibility of “alternatives” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a topic of “negotiation”, and reiterated that Israel was strongly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the goal of the peace process desired by most European and Arab capitals as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Warrants and Judicial Cases

Netanyahu claimed the primary reason he would not be able to make a reciprocal visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he described as invented by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of shifting focus from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any wrongdoing, but stepped aside from his role in May pending the outcome of an inquiry.

Netanyahu asserted Khan was “harming the standing of the ICC” with “unfounded charges of deprivation and genocide” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

A separate court, the international court of justice, is weighing up allegations that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent investigative commission concluded that Israel had committed 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.”