🔗 Share this article

Benjamin Netanyahu has remarked that the opening segment of the United Nations-backed Gaza truce framework is close to conclusion, adding that the second stage must include the disarmament of Hamas.

Forthcoming Discussions in Washington

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

“We’re about to complete the initial phase,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to guarantee that we attain the identical results in the second phase, and that’s something I look forward to reviewing with President Trump.”

German Leader Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a joint press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Stage two must begin now and then phase three must also be examined.”

Merz is the first head of state of a major European state to confer with Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) released warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity allegations in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had indicated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a visit was not presently planned. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “baseless allegations” from a “biased prosecuting office”.

Terms of the Current Ceasefire

During the first phase of the current ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the remaining 20 surviving Israeli captives in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 bodies of hostages killed during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, resulting in them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.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.

Future Stages and Ambiguous Sequencing

Neither Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely supported them, set out a schedule transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to pull back further, and an international stabilization force is to be set up under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders headed by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian council to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

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

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

Potential Alternatives and Political Stances

Netanyahu raised the possibility of “other options” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not dismiss Israeli annexation of the West Bank, labeling it as a topic of “discussion”, and reiterated that Israel was adamantly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process desired by most European and Arab capitals as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Legal Cases

Netanyahu claimed the primary reason he would not be able make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as fabricated by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of shifting focus from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any wrongdoing, but stepped aside from his role in May awaiting the conclusion of an investigation.

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “destroying the standing of the ICC” with “trumped-up charges of deprivation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

A separate court, the international court of justice, is weighing up 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 informed reporters on Sunday: “There is no reason to consider this at the moment.”