🔗 Share this article

Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the first stage of the internationally-supported Gaza truce proposal is close to completion, adding that the next phase must entail the demilitarization of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli prime minister mentioned he would discuss the next steps later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza initiatives were formalized in a UN security council decision on 17 November.

“We are nearing conclude the initial stage,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to ensure that we secure the same results in the next phase, and that’s something I am eager to discussing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

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

Merz is the initial head of state of a leading European state to confer with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court 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 allegations in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had said he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a visit was not currently planned. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “trumped-up charges” from a “corrupt prosecuting office”.

Terms of the Current Ceasefire

Under the initial stage of the present ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the last 20 living Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 remains of hostages who died during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have pulled back to a ceasefire line, leaving them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

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

Next Steps and Unclear Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely supported them, set out a schedule extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to pull back further, and an international stabilization force is to be created under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian committee to run daily governance of Gaza.

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

“I think it’s important to ensure that Hamas abides not only with the ceasefire, but also with their obligation which they agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he asserted.

Possible Options and Political Stances

Netanyahu raised the prospects of “alternatives” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not dismiss Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a subject of “debate”, and emphasized that Israel was strongly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process supported by most European and Arab governments as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

ICC Charges and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu stated the reason he would not be able make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as manufactured by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a way of shifting focus from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but stepped aside from his role in May pending the conclusion of an investigation.

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “damaging the standing of the ICC” with “false charges of deprivation and genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

Another court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is weighing up allegations that Israel has perpetrated 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 informed reporters on Sunday: “There is little cause to discuss this at the present time.”