🔗 Share this article

Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the initial segment of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire agreement is approaching completion, adding that the second stage must require the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli prime minister stated he would address the future steps in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were formalized in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November.

“We are nearing finish the initial phase,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to make sure that we secure the identical results in the second stage, and that’s something I am eager to discussing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

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

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

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had said he would invite Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a trip was not currently planned. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “trumped-up allegations” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Details of the Current Ceasefire

Under the first phase of the present ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the final 20 surviving 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. Concurrently, Israeli forces have pulled back to a truce line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was put into effect on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed over 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas attacks over the identical period.

Future Stages and Unclear Timeline

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, specified a schedule transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to retreat more, and an international stabilization force is to be established under the control of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian council to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

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

“I think it’s vital 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 said.

Possible Options and Diplomatic Positions

Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not dismiss Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “negotiation”, and stressed that Israel was adamantly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process desired by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Legal Proceedings

Netanyahu claimed the reason he would not be able make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as fabricated by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a way of diverting attention from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any misconduct, but stepped down from his role in May awaiting the outcome of an inquiry.

Netanyahu said Khan was “destroying the credibility of the ICC” with “unfounded charges of starvation and genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

A separate court, the international court of justice, is considering allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent investigative commission determined that Israel had carried out genocide.

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