Trump says U.S. aid to Israel will end this year

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Fox News on Nov. 3 that American aid to Israel, about $3.8 billion a year under a 10-year agreement, will be “cut off at the end of the year,” without saying how it would be done.

If carried out, the move would end decades of U.S. military support more than two years before the current agreement expires in 2028. Neither the White House nor the Israeli government had released details of the change, and Gulf News reported that the funding has not yet stopped.

Trump made the remarks during a call-in to “Fox & Friends” on U.S. midterm election day, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. “We were giving them $4 billion. We are. But it gets cut off at the end of the year,” he said.

The president said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “reached an agreement on that,” and that Netanyahu “brought it up.” Trump quoted Netanyahu as saying: “I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid.” Neither man’s words could be checked against a transcript or a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

Trump’s figure of $4 billion differs slightly from the $3.8 billion a year set out in the 10-year memorandum of understanding, which JTA said runs through 2028. Gulf News, which also reported the remarks, said the agreement was negotiated under former president Barack Obama and took effect in 2019. JTA said it was unclear how easily the White House could stop the money this year under that deal.

Trump also answered criticism from Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race. “It’s a bad talking point,” Trump said, adding that Republicans should not face criticism when “we give them more than anybody else and they no longer need it,” according to JTA.

Netanyahu has said publicly that Israel wants to wind down U.S. military aid. JTA said he told Trump in January that he wanted to taper it to zero at some point. In April, dozens of U.S. senators, almost all Democrats, voted for a motion to block some weapons sales to Israel. It failed.

Yair Golan, chairman of the Israeli party Democrats, criticized the announcement on X. “The cessation of U.S. aid is heavy damage to Israel’s security,” he wrote. “A responsible prime minister would have fought to increase American aid, not eliminate it.”

The announcement comes as Israel’s next government remains unsettled. In the count after the Oct. 27 election, Netanyahu’s bloc led with 53 seats to 48 for the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, short of a majority for either side. The aid question also lands amid U.S.-Iran tensions, which we have covered in Trump’s comments on Iran strikes after the midterms.

What happens next is unclear. Whether Congress, which appropriates U.S. foreign military financing, or the Israeli cabinet will act on Trump’s statement has not been stated. The 2028 expiry of the current agreement remains the next fixed date. This story will be updated if the White House or Netanyahu’s office issues a statement.

Via the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Gulf News.

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