Trump announced the termination of multi-billion dollar aid to Israel
US President Donald Trump said that Washington will stop annual funding of about $4 billion to Israel from the end of 2026. According to him, the corresponding agreement was reached with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several months ago.
This was reported on November 3 by Reuters, citing the American president's interview with Fox News.
Trump claims that Israel no longer needs annual American financial aid, as it has a sufficiently strong economy and is able to pay for military purchases on its own.
“As for payments to Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have an agreement. We allocate Israel $4 billion a year, and several months ago we agreed to stop these payments,” — said the US president.
According to Trump, the parties agreed to stop the funding before the end of the current year. He emphasized that Washington does not intend to completely abandon support for its ally in the Middle East.
The US President noted that the United States will continue to help Israel if necessary. The American side would also be able to sell weapons and equipment to the Israeli military on a commercial basis.
Trump said that the issue of reducing financial aid has been discussed with Netanyahu for several years. According to him, the Israeli prime minister himself had advocated for gradually reducing the country's dependence on American funding.
The American president also linked the decision to the domestic political situation in the US. According to him, financial support for Israel has become a subject of criticism from Democrats and left-wing politicians, who use this topic against the Republican Party.
The statement came on November 3, when midterm elections to Congress are taking place in the United States.
However, the mechanism for stopping the aid remains unclear. As Reuters notes, the current agreement between the US and Israel provides for military aid until 2028 inclusive.
The document was signed in September 2016 during the administration of President Barack Obama. It is for ten fiscal years — from 2019 to 2028 — and provides for a total of $38 billion in American military aid to Israel.
According to data from the US State Department, the annual funding under the agreement is $3.8 billion. Of this amount, $3.3 billion is allocated for military procurement, and another $500 million for joint missile defense programs.
Thus, Trump's announced end of payments at the end of 2026 implies a change to the current support mechanism before the established deadline.
The agreement provides for the allocation of funds subject to approval by the US Congress. At the same time, the signatories committed to adhering to the agreed funding levels for the entire duration of the agreement.
As The Times of Israel notes, Netanyahu had previously indeed stated his intention to gradually wean off American military aid. However, the Israeli prime minister spoke about reducing funding over ten years, not about a full stop already at the end of 2026.
At the time of publication of Trump's statement, there has been no official reaction from Netanyahu's office. No documents confirming a revision of the current agreement or details of the agreed mechanism for stopping payments have been presented either.
Therefore, the announced changes by the American president should for now be viewed as a statement of an agreement reached, not as a termination of military aid that has already taken effect.
