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Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the primary part of the internationally-supported Gaza halt in hostilities proposal is close to completion, stating that the subsequent stage must involve the demilitarization of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli prime minister stated he would talk about the following stages in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were codified in a UN security council resolution on 17 November.

“We’re about to finish the first phase,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to ensure that we achieve the identical outcomes in the second stage, and that’s something I anticipate reviewing with President Trump.”

European Leader Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was addressing the media at a shared news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Stage two must come now and then stage three must also be taken into account.”

Merz is the first leader of a significant European state to confer with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court delivered arrest warrants 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 indicated he would invite Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a visit was not currently being considered. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “trumped-up allegations” from a “corrupt prosecuting office”.

Details of the Ongoing Truce

During the first phase of the existing ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the last 20 living 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. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have pulled back to a truce line, resulting in them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas military actions over the same timeframe.

Future Stages and Ambiguous Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, specified a schedule extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to withdraw farther, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be established under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders chaired by Trump, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian council to run daily administration of Gaza.

The timeline of these actions is unclear in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.

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

Possible Options and Diplomatic Stances

Netanyahu raised the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a topic of “discussion”, and reiterated that Israel was strongly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process supported by most European and Arab governments as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Legal Cases

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 invented by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of diverting attention from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but stepped down from his role in May awaiting the conclusion of an investigation.

Netanyahu asserted Khan was “harming the standing of the ICC” with “trumped-up allegations of deprivation and genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

A separate tribunal, the international court of justice, is weighing up charges that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous commission of inquiry found 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.”