Trump announces end to annual military aid to Israel

President Trump says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that annual aid from the US stop after 2026.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States will end its annual $4 billion assistance package to Israel by the end of 2026, claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally proposed the move months ago.

Speaking during a telephone interview with Fox News‘ “Fox & Friends” on the morning of the US midterm elections, Trump said the two leaders had reached an agreement to discontinue American funding while maintaining close military cooperation.

“We won’t be paying Israel anymore,” Trump declared, adding that the assistance would end in December.

The president insisted that Israel had become economically strong enough to finance its own defense needs, although Washington would remain prepared to provide additional assistance if necessary.

“Why? Because they don’t need it, Brian,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade when questioned about the decision.

Trump said the proposal originated with Netanyahu, rather than the White House.

“He brought it up. He brought it up,” Trump said, recalling that Netanyahu had suggested Israel no longer required the annual assistance.

According to Trump, Netanyahu told him, “I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid.”

The president emphasized that ending financial assistance would not prevent Israel from purchasing American weapons or maintaining its strategic partnership with Washington.

“Oh yeah, they can buy whatever they want,” Trump said when asked whether Israel would retain access to American military equipment.

Trump also acknowledged that domestic political considerations influenced the decision, arguing that opponents of Israel had increasingly used American assistance as a campaign issue against Republican candidates.

He specifically cited Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, who has criticized US military assistance to Israel and questioned the country’s role as an American ally.

Trump described the funding arrangement as a politically damaging issue that Democrats had exploited to portray Republicans as prioritizing foreign assistance over domestic needs.

“The left uses the $4 billion payment,” Trump said, describing it as a political argument that his administration intended to eliminate.

The announcement raises questions about the future of the existing US-Israel military assistance agreement, which was signed during the Obama administration in 2016 and remains in effect through fiscal year 2028.

Under the 10-year, $38 billion memorandum of understanding, Israel receives approximately $3.3 billion annually in foreign military financing and another $500 million for joint missile defense programs.

Although the agreement is not a legally binding treaty, the funding remains subject to congressional appropriations, and Trump did not explain how the administration intends to terminate the arrangement two years ahead of schedule.

Netanyahu’s office had not immediately confirmed the reported agreement as of Tuesday afternoon.

The announcement also represents a significant acceleration of Netanyahu’s previously stated timetable for ending American military assistance.

In a May interview with CBS News‘ “60 Minutes,” Netanyahu said Israel should gradually eliminate its dependence on American funding over the next decade.

“I want to draw down to zero the American financial support,” Netanyahu said at the time.

He added that Israel had reached a stage of economic and technological development that would allow it to transition away from financial assistance toward a more equal defense partnership with Washington.

“We’ve come of age,” Netanyahu declared.

Netanyahu reiterated in an October interview that Israel must prepare for a future without American military assistance, arguing that changing political attitudes in the United States would eventually make the existing arrangement unsustainable.

Trump’s announcement comes amid declining American public support for Israel following the war in Gaza, particularly among Democratic voters.

A June Quinnipiac University survey found that 48% of American voters believed Washington was too supportive of Israel, including 66% of Democrats, compared with 16% and 20%, respectively, in 2017.

Despite the proposed termination of annual assistance, Trump emphasized that Israel would remain a central American ally and that the United States would continue supporting its security.

The White House has not yet provided a detailed implementation plan explaining whether all components of the current military assistance package, including joint missile defense funding, would be eliminated.