President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States will stop giving Israel about $4 billion a year in aid after the end of 2026. He said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the arrangement months ago.
“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” Trump told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on the day of the US midterm elections. “We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel. Now we’ll help Israel if they need it.”
Trump said Israel is fine with the decision because it has become a very successful country that no longer needs the money. He called Israel a great ally. He also said Israel would remain free to buy American weapons. “They can buy whatever they want,” he said.
The president tied the move to domestic politics. He said Democrats and left-wing politicians had been using the aid as a talking point to criticize Republicans. “The left uses the $4 billion payment that everybody knows about, well it’s no secret, as a signal of unfairness, and we can’t allow that to happen,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office. Trump offered few details, and it was not immediately clear which funding he meant.
Israel’s current military aid package is set by a memorandum of understanding that provides $3.8 billion a year. The agreement expires in 2028, and the two governments have been discussing what US assistance should look like after that. The 10-year deal covers $38 billion in aid from 2019 through 2028.
Ending the aid has long been Netanyahu’s own stated goal. In a May interview with CBS, he said he hoped to wean Israel off US military support within a decade. In a June letter to a US congressman, he wrote that Israel should “move from aid recipient to partner.” Netanyahu has noted that he phased out US economic aid to Israel during his first term in 1996, and has said he intends to do the same with military aid.
