Initial Stage of Gaza Truce Framework Nearly Complete, Says Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu has proclaimed that the opening stage of the UN-endorsed Gaza halt in hostilities proposal is approaching finalization, and added that the subsequent phase must entail the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli premier mentioned he would talk about the following stages in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were formalized in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November.

“We are nearing complete the initial phase,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to guarantee that we attain the equivalent results in the next phase, and that’s something I am eager to reviewing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a shared media briefing with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who stated: “The second phase must start immediately and then phase three must also be considered.”

Merz is the first leader of a significant European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court 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 winning federal elections in February, Merz had said he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a trip was not at this time planned. 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 agreement, Hamas freed the remaining 20 living Israeli captives in return for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 remains of hostages who died during the war. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a demarcation line, leaving them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.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 killed in Hamas attacks over the identical period.

Future Stages and Ambiguous Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, specified a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to retreat more, and an international stabilization force is to be created 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 order of these actions is not clear in Trump’s plan 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 demilitarized,” he said.

Possible Alternatives and Political Positions

Netanyahu raised 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 subject of “debate”, and reiterated that Israel was firmly against the establishment of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process supported by most European and Arab capitals as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Warrants and Legal Proceedings

Netanyahu claimed the primary reason he would not be able to make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as invented by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of diverting attention from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but recused himself from his role in May awaiting the outcome of an investigation.

Netanyahu said Khan was “destroying the reputation of the ICC” with “trumped-up allegations of deprivation and genocide” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

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

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