Initial Stage of Gaza Truce Framework Nearly Complete, Says Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu has proclaimed that the opening part of the internationally-supported Gaza truce plan is close to finalization, and added that the second stage must include the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli prime minister revealed he would talk about the subsequent actions later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were codified in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November.

“We are close to conclude the first stage,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to make sure that we attain the same results in the second phase, and that’s something I look forward to discussing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

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

Merz is the initial leader of a leading European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court issued arrest warrants 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 said he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a visit was not presently under consideration. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “trumped-up allegations” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Terms of the Ongoing Ceasefire

Under the initial stage of the present ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the remaining 20 surviving Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 bodies of hostages killed during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have pulled back to a ceasefire 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 approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas attacks over the identical timeframe.

Future Stages and Unclear Timeline

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which largely supported them, set out a schedule extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to withdraw farther, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be set up under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian committee to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The order of these measures is vague in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu focused on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s crucial to make sure that Hamas adheres not only with the ceasefire, but also with their pledge which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he stated.

Potential Alternatives and Political Stances

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

ICC Warrants and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu stated the reason he would not be able make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as manufactured by the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of shifting focus from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but stepped down from his role in May pending the outcome of an inquiry.

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “destroying the credibility of the ICC” with “false allegations of starvation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt official”.

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

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