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Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted that the opening segment of the internationally-supported Gaza ceasefire framework is close to finalization, stating that the subsequent stage must require the demilitarization of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli prime minister revealed he would discuss the future 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 close to finish the first stage,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to ensure that we achieve the same objectives in the second stage, and that’s something I anticipate discussing with President Trump.”

German Leader Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was speaking at a shared press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who stated: “Stage two must come now and then stage three must also be considered.”

Merz is the initial leader of a significant European state to confer with 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 allegations in Gaza.

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had said he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a visit was not at this time being considered. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “baseless charges” from a “corrupt prosecuting office”.

Terms of the Current Truce

During the first phase of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the remaining 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has transferred 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 At the same time, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, leaving them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.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 approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas attacks over the identical period.

Next Steps and Unclear Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, detailed a timetable extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to pull back further, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be set up under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders led by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian committee to run daily administration of Gaza.

The timeline of these actions is ambiguous in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu focused on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s vital to ensure that Hamas complies not only with the ceasefire, but also with their obligation which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he stated.

Potential Options and Diplomatic Positions

Netanyahu mentioned the possibility of “alternatives” to the ISF, without elaborating on what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a topic of “debate”, and reiterated 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 vast majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Warrants and Legal Proceedings

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 invented by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of shifting focus from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but recused himself from his role in May awaiting the conclusion of an inquiry.

Netanyahu asserted Khan was “harming the standing of the ICC” with “false allegations of starvation and genocide” from a “compromised prosecutor”.

Another court, the international court of justice, is weighing up charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide.

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