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Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted that the primary part of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire framework is approaching completion, adding that the next phase must entail the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli leader said he would address the following stages in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were codified in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

“We’re about to finish the initial stage,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to guarantee that we attain the identical objectives in the next stage, and that’s something I look forward to discussing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a joint media briefing with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Stage two must start immediately and then stage three must also be considered.”

Merz is the initial leader 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 ex- defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had indicated he would invite Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a trip was not currently under consideration. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “trumped-up charges” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Details of the Ongoing Ceasefire

During the first phase of the current ceasefire deal, Hamas released the final 20 living Israeli captives in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 remains of hostages who died during the war. Meanwhile, 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 killed more than 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas attacks over the same timeframe.

Next Steps and Ambiguous Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, specified a timetable extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to pull back further, and an international stabilization force is to be established under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian council to run daily administration of Gaza.

The order of these actions is unclear in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed Hamas disarmament.

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

Possible Options and Political Positions

Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “negotiation”, and reiterated that Israel was strongly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process supported by most European and Arab capitals as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Warrants and Judicial Proceedings

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

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “harming the credibility of the ICC” with “unfounded charges of deprivation and genocide” from a “compromised prosecutor”.

Another tribunal, the international court of justice, is considering charges that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had carried out genocide.

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