Israel expects to move to the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan soon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, adding that he would discuss “opportunities for peace” with President Donald Trump when he meets him later this month.

“We very shortly expect to move to the second phase, which is more difficult, or equally difficult,” Netanyahu said, speaking at a joint press conference in Jerusalem with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “We’re almost there.”

Under Trump’s proposal for Gaza, troops from several Muslim-majority nations, including Indonesia and Azerbaijan, would join an International Stabilization Force working with Egypt and Israel to help maintain order as the Israel Defense Forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The plan also envisions a transitional government to be set up under a “Board of Peace.”

The return of the body of the last remaining Israeli hostage in Gaza would conclude the first phase of the plan. In the second phase, Hamas must be disarmed and Gaza demilitarized, Netanyahu said, adding that the third phase of the plan must be to “de-radicalize Gaza.”

Netanyahu said one of the topics he’ll raise with Trump is the peace opportunities now “at hand,” following what he described as two years of sustained blows to Iran and its proxies. Israel intends to capitalize on these opportunities, he said, without offering further details.

He added that he plans to discuss with Trump the timeline for disarming Hamas, including whether international forces might deploy to Gaza and — if so — from which countries. If not, he said the two will discuss alternative solutions. Another priority will be ensuring that the commitments laid out in the second phase are fully achieved, he said.

While Merz concurred that Hamas must be disarmed and can have no role in Gaza’s future, the two leaders diverged on whether a Palestinian state should ultimately be created.

Merz said the best solution for the region is a Palestinian state alongside Israel, although Germany — unlike other European states — has refrained from recognizing such an entity, as it currently lacks the prerequisites for an independent state. Germany doesn’t plan to recognize a Palestinian state in the foreseeable future, he said.

Some of Israel’s neighbors accept Israel’s right to live in peace and security, and others do not, the German leader said.

“One day, the Palestinians themselves will have to decide which path they want to take,” Merz said.

“We believe there’s a path to advance a broader peace with the Arab states and a path also to establish a workable peace with our Palestinian neighbors,” Netanyahu said. “But we’re not going to create a state that will be committed to our destruction at our doorstep.”

Two months in, the truce between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, with both sides accusing the other of violations. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Sunday that continued Israeli strikes are causing “a lot of uncertainty” around Middle East stability, while noting that Iran’s tense standoff with the U.S. also remains unresolved.

Qatar is acting as a mediator in the ceasefire talks alongside Eqypt.

_____

(With assistance from Dan Williams.)

_____

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.