Initial Stage of Gaza Truce Plan Nearly Complete, States Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the initial part of the United Nations-backed Gaza truce plan is close to conclusion, stating that the second stage must require the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli prime minister mentioned he would talk about the next steps in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were codified in a UN Security Council decision on 17 November.

“We are close to finish the first phase,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to make sure that we achieve the same results in the next stage, and that’s something I anticipate reviewing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a shared news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Phase two must come now and then stage three must also be examined.”

Merz is the initial head of state of a significant European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his ex- 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 stated he would invite Netanyahu to Germany notwithstanding the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a visit was not presently planned. Netanyahu rejects the warrants as “fabricated charges” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Details of the Current Truce

During the first phase of the current ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the last 20 living Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has transferred 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 control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was put into effect on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed over 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas attacks over the same period.

Future Stages and Ambiguous Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, specified a schedule transitioning the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to pull back further, and an international stabilization force is to be created under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders led by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian council to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

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

“I think it’s vital 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 asserted.

Possible Options and Political Positions

Netanyahu mentioned the prospects of “alternatives” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, describing it as a topic of “discussion”, and reiterated that Israel was firmly 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 Cases

Netanyahu said 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 top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of diverting attention from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any misconduct, but stepped down from his role in May pending the conclusion of an investigation.

Netanyahu asserted Khan was “destroying the reputation of the ICC” with “false charges of deprivation and acts of genocide” from a “compromised prosecutor”.

Another court, the international court of justice, is reviewing allegations that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission determined that Israel had committed genocide.

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