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Benjamin Netanyahu has noted that the initial part of the UN-endorsed Gaza halt in hostilities plan is close to finalization, adding that the next phase must include the disarmament of Hamas.

Forthcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli premier said he would talk about the following stages in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza initiatives were formalized in a UN security council decision on 17 November.

“We are nearing conclude the initial stage,” Netanyahu said. “But we have to ensure that we attain the equivalent results in the second phase, and that’s something I anticipate addressing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a joint news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who stated: “The second phase must begin now and then phase three must also be taken into account.”

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

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had said he would invite Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a visit was not at this time under consideration. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “baseless charges” from a “biased prosecuting office”.

Details of the Current Ceasefire

Under the first phase of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the remaining 20 surviving Israeli captives in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 bodies of hostages who died during the war. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, resulting in them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have been responsible for the deaths of more than 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas military actions over the identical period.

Next Steps and Unclear Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which mostly supported them, specified a schedule extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to retreat more, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be created under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, overseeing a administrative Palestinian committee to run daily administration of Gaza.

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

“I think it’s important to ensure that Hamas abides not only with the ceasefire, but also with their pledge which they agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he said.

Possible Alternatives and Diplomatic Stances

Netanyahu raised the possibility of “other options” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli annexation of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “debate”, and reiterated that Israel was adamantly against the establishment of a Palestinian state, the goal of the peace process supported by most European and Arab capitals as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu claimed the 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 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 investigation.

Netanyahu said Khan was “destroying the credibility of the ICC” with “trumped-up charges of deprivation and acts of genocide” from a “compromised prosecutor”.

A separate court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is weighing up charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide.

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