🔗 Share this article

Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted that the initial segment of the United Nations-backed Gaza ceasefire plan is close to completion, stating that the next stage must require the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli leader revealed he would examine the next steps later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were formalized in a UN security council decision on 17 November.

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

German Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was addressing the media at a joint press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “The second phase must start immediately and then the third phase must also be examined.”

Merz is the first head of state of a leading European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court issued 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 in Gaza.

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had stated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a trip was not presently under consideration. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “baseless charges” from a “biased prosecuting office”.

Terms of the Current Ceasefire

Under the first phase of the present ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 remains of hostages killed during the war. Concurrently, Israeli forces have pulled back to a demarcation line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

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

Next Steps and Ambiguous Timeline

Neither Trump’s suggestions, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, set out a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to pull back further, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be established under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders led by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian council to run day-to-day administration of Gaza.

The sequencing of these steps is not clear in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s important to ensure that Hamas complies 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 Positions

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

International Criminal Court Charges and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu stated the primary reason he would not be able to make a reciprocal visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as fabricated by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a way of diverting attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any misconduct, but recused himself from his role in May pending the outcome of an investigation.

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

Another court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is weighing up charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent commission of inquiry found that Israel had carried out genocide.

Questioned about the possibility of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz informed reporters on Sunday: “There is little cause to discuss this at the moment.”