Initial Phase of Gaza Strip Ceasefire Framework Almost Complete, Says Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu has remarked that the initial stage of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire plan is close to conclusion, adding that the next phase must require the disarmament of Hamas.
Forthcoming Talks in Washington
The Israeli prime minister said he would talk about the future steps in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were formalized in a UN Security Council decision on 17 November.
“We’re about to finish the first phase,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to make sure that we secure the equivalent outcomes in the next stage, and that’s something I am eager to reviewing with President Trump.”
European Leader Meets with Netanyahu
The prime minister was speaking at a joint news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Stage two must begin now and then phase three must also be taken into account.”
Merz is the first head of state of a major European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court delivered warrants for arrest 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 securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had stated he would invite Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a trip was not currently under consideration. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “fabricated charges” from a “corrupt prosecuting office”.
Details of the Current Ceasefire
Under the initial stage of the existing ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 remains of hostages who died during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, leaving them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.
Since the ceasefire was declared on 10 October, Israeli forces have killed over 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas military actions over the identical period.
Future Stages and Unclear Sequencing
Neither Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely supported them, specified a schedule extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to withdraw farther, and an international stabilization force is to be created under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian council to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.
The sequencing of these measures is ambiguous in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu focused on Hamas disarmament.
“I think it’s important to ensure that Hamas complies not only with the ceasefire, but also with their commitment which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he stated.
Possible Alternatives and Diplomatic Stances
Netanyahu mentioned the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “discussion”, and stressed that Israel was firmly opposed the creation of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process desired by most European and Arab governments as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.
International Criminal Court Warrants and Judicial Proceedings
Netanyahu stated the primary reason he would not be able 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 stepped aside from his role in May awaiting the outcome of an inquiry.
Netanyahu asserted Khan was “damaging the standing of the ICC” with “false allegations of starvation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt official”.
A separate tribunal, the international court of justice, is weighing up allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had carried out genocide.
Asked about the prospect of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz informed reporters on Sunday: “There is no reason to discuss this at the moment.”
