Initial Stage of Gaza Strip Ceasefire Plan Almost Complete, Says Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that the opening segment of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire plan is close to completion, noting that the next stage must require the disarmament of Hamas.
Forthcoming Talks in Washington
The Israeli premier stated he would examine the future steps later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were formalized in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November.
“We’re about to complete the first phase,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to make sure that we secure the same outcomes in the next stage, and that’s something I am eager to discussing 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 come now and then the third phase must also be considered.”
Merz is the initial head of state of a leading European state to meet Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court issued warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his ex- 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 welcome Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a visit was not at this time planned. Netanyahu rejects the warrants as “fabricated allegations” from a “biased prosecutor”.
Terms of the Ongoing Ceasefire
During the first phase of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the final 20 living Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 bodies of hostages who died during the war. Concurrently, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a truce line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.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 military actions over the same period.
Future Stages and Unclear Sequencing
Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which mostly supported them, detailed a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to withdraw farther, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be set up under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders led by Trump, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian council to run daily administration of Gaza.
The timeline of these actions is not clear in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.
“I think it’s vital to make sure 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.
Potential Options and Diplomatic Stances
Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “other options” to the ISF, without elaborating on what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a topic of “debate”, and emphasized that Israel was strongly 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 Legal Cases
Netanyahu claimed the primary reason he would not be able to make a reciprocal visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he described as invented by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of diverting attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any wrongdoing, but stepped down from his role in May pending the outcome of an investigation.
Netanyahu asserted Khan was “damaging the credibility of the ICC” with “unfounded charges of starvation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt official”.
Another tribunal, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), 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 little cause to discuss this at the present time.”