🔗 Share this article

Benjamin Netanyahu has remarked that the first phase of the internationally-supported Gaza ceasefire plan is nearing completion, adding that the next phase must entail the demilitarization of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli prime minister stated he would address the following stages in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were outlined in a UN security council decision on 17 November.

“We’re about to conclude the first phase,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to guarantee that we attain the identical results in the next phase, and that’s something I am eager to discussing with President Trump.”

European Leader Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a joint news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “The second phase must start immediately and then stage three must also be considered.”

Merz is the initial leader of a significant European state to meet Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court delivered warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his ex- 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 noted on Sunday a trip was not at this time under consideration. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “baseless charges” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Terms of the Current Truce

During the initial stage of the present ceasefire deal, Hamas released the remaining 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 remains of hostages killed during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a truce line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was declared on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed over 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas attacks over the identical timeframe.

Next Steps and Unclear Timeline

Neither Trump’s suggestions, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which largely supported them, specified a timetable extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to pull back further, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be established under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders led by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian committee to run daily governance of Gaza.

The timeline of these measures is not clear in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his statements on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed 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 said.

Possible Alternatives and Political Positions

Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without elaborating on what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a subject of “discussion”, and stressed that Israel was adamantly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the objective 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 Cases

Netanyahu stated the reason he would not be able to make a return 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 shifting focus from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any wrongdoing, but stepped down from his role in May awaiting the outcome of an inquiry.

Netanyahu said Khan was “harming the standing of the ICC” with “trumped-up charges of starvation and genocide” from a “compromised 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 determined that Israel had committed genocide.

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