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Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the primary part of the internationally-supported Gaza halt in hostilities proposal is approaching completion, stating that the subsequent phase must entail the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli leader stated he would address the following stages in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were outlined in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November.

“We are nearing finish the first stage,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to ensure that we secure the equivalent objectives in the next phase, and that’s something I am eager to addressing with President Trump.”

European Leader Visits Netanyahu

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

Merz is the first leader of a major European state to confer with Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) released arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and his former 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 clarified on Sunday a visit was not presently being considered. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “trumped-up allegations” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Terms of the Current Truce

Under the initial stage of the present ceasefire agreement, Hamas freed the last 20 living Israeli captives 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 At the same time, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.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 timeframe.

Future Stages and Ambiguous Sequencing

Neither Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, detailed a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is required to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to withdraw farther, and an international stabilization force is to be set up under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders led by Trump, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian council to run day-to-day administration of Gaza.

The timeline of these steps is vague in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his statements on Sunday, Netanyahu focused on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s important to make sure that Hamas adheres not only with the ceasefire, but also with their commitment which they agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he said.

Potential Alternatives and Diplomatic 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 annexation of the West Bank, describing it as a subject of “discussion”, and emphasized that Israel was strongly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the goal of the peace process desired by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Warrants and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu claimed the reason he would not be able to make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as invented by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of diverting attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted 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 “false allegations of starvation and genocide” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Another court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is reviewing allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission found that Israel had carried out genocide.

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