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Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that the initial phase of the United Nations-backed Gaza ceasefire framework is nearing completion, noting that the second stage must involve the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli premier revealed he would talk about the following stages in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were formalized in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

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

European Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

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

Merz is the initial leader of a major European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court delivered 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 winning federal elections in February, Merz had indicated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a trip was not presently being considered. Netanyahu rejects the warrants as “trumped-up charges” from a “corrupt prosecuting office”.

Details of the Ongoing Truce

During the first phase of the current ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the final 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. At the same time, Israeli forces have pulled back to a demarcation line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was announced 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 timeframe.

Future Stages and Unclear Timeline

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, set out a schedule extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to retreat more, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be set up under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian council to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The sequencing of these steps is vague in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed Hamas disarmament.

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

Possible 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 annexation of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “discussion”, and reiterated that Israel was strongly against the establishment of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process desired by most European and Arab capitals as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Charges and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu claimed the primary reason he would not be able to make a reciprocal 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 allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but stepped aside from his role in May pending the conclusion of an inquiry.

Netanyahu said Khan was “harming the reputation of the ICC” with “unfounded allegations of starvation and genocide” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Another court, the international court of justice, is considering allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide.

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