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Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the first part of the internationally-supported Gaza truce plan is nearing conclusion, stating that the next phase must involve the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli premier said he would address the future steps later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were outlined in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

“We are nearing conclude the initial phase,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to make sure that we secure the same outcomes in the second stage, and that’s something I anticipate discussing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

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

Merz is the initial leader of a leading European state to meet Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegations in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had said he would invite Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a trip was not presently planned. Netanyahu rejects the warrants as “trumped-up charges” from a “biased prosecuting office”.

Details of the Ongoing Truce

During the initial stage of the current ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the last 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 bodies of hostages who died during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a demarcation line, leaving them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was announced 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 attacks over the same period.

Next Steps and Unclear Timeline

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely supported them, set out a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to retreat more, and an international stabilization force is to be created under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian committee to run daily administration of Gaza.

The sequencing of these measures is unclear in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his statements on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.

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

Potential Options and Political Positions

Netanyahu raised the prospects of “alternatives” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a topic of “discussion”, and emphasized that Israel was adamantly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process supported by most European and Arab capitals as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Charges and Judicial Proceedings

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

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “destroying the reputation of the ICC” with “trumped-up charges of starvation and genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

Another tribunal, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is weighing up allegations that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had carried out genocide.

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