US President Donald Trump says he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed to end $4 billion in annual US funding for Israel after this year, while maintaining Washington’s ability to sell weapons to its close Middle East ally.
The unexpected announcement came as Americans went to the polls for midterm elections. Mr Trump framed the decision in political terms, saying it would remove what he described as a “bad talking point” that left-wing Democrats had used to attack Republicans over military support for Israel.
- Advertisement -
Mr Trump offered no explanation for how the funding could be stopped by the end of the year. The memorandum of understanding governing US military assistance provides Israel with $3.8 billion annually and does not expire until September 2028.
His remarks nevertheless appeared to recognise that aid to Israel, once a dependable point of bipartisan agreement in Washington, has become a political vulnerability among parts of the electorate.
The US and Israel have been discussing how American assistance might change after 2028. Mr Netanyahu had already said he expected US aid to decline gradually over time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing a joint meeting of Congress in 2024
Yet Mr Trump appeared to indicate that he had already settled on a decision that would represent a major change in the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, even as both countries remain engaged in a confrontation with Iran more than eight months after launching a joint attack.
Speaking to Fox News, Mr Trump said Israel no longer required the funding and argued that Democratic and left-wing politicians were using US financial support for Israel as a weapon against Republicans.
Opinion polls indicate that overall American support for Israel has weakened, with the decline driven largely by the war in Gaza.
“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,” Mr Trump said.
“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,” he added.
Israel’s political future is unsettled after a 27 October election in which Mr Netanyahu, a close ally of US Republicans, lost his governing majority while preventing his opponents from securing a clear route to remove him.
The result set the stage for negotiations that are expected to be lengthy and difficult as rival parties try to form a new government.
Neither the White House nor Mr Netanyahu’s office responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the rival bloc seeking to oust Mr Netanyahu, wrote on X: “The fact that the security establishment, along with Israeli citizens, is learning about a change in the strategic relationship framework through the media highlights just how much Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct poses a genuine danger. We can no longer rely on him and must replace him.”
Criticism of Israel
American support for Israel, particularly among Democrats, has declined since Israel launched its response in Gaza to the deadly Hamas-led cross-border attack in October 2023.
A Quinnipiac University poll in June found that 48% of voters and 66% of Democrats considered the US too supportive of Israel. When the question was first asked in 2017, the figures were 16% and 20%, respectively.
Polling and analysts suggested Democrats were positioned to take control of the House of Representatives from Mr Trump’s Republicans, while control of the Senate remained uncertain.
Several candidates who criticised Israel won Democratic primaries during the past year, and lawmakers from the party’s moderate wing have shown a growing willingness to question Washington’s long-standing support for the country.
In a closely watched battleground race, Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed is seeking a Senate seat representing Michigan.
If elected, Mr El-Sayed would become the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate. He has opposed providing Israel with unconditional military assistance.
Mr Trump said the US funding had become a “signal of unfairness” used by the left and that he wanted to eliminate what he regarded as an easy political target.
Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed would become the first Muslim senator if he wins
He singled out Mr El-Sayed while explaining his claim that the US would stop sending the money.
“Because they (Israel) don’t need it, and because why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it? It’s a bad talking point,” Mr Trump said.
Some supporters of Mr Trump’s political movement have also grown more critical of Israel, accusing the country of misleading the president about how easily Iran could be defeated.
Polls show that most Americans oppose the war, which has contributed to higher fuel prices in the US and weakened Mr Trump’s approval ratings.
“The curious issue is timing,” said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.
“Why did President Trump announce it on election day? And why did he announce it amidst speculation that a major joint US-Israeli military strike against Iran may be days away?”
Some American supporters of Israel urged Mr Trump to reconsider and phase out the funding over time. US Representative Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California, wrote on X that “Zero aid Israel” would be included in his party’s agenda if it regained control of Congress.
Republican US Representative Don Bacon told CNN: “What I really had heartburn about is the Israelis didn’t know about it.”
Congress enacted a law in 2020 authorising the funding for Israel, but the Senate and House must approve appropriations bills each year before the money can be distributed and released.
In an interview with an Israeli television channel in October, Mr Netanyahu said: “If you think we’re going to continue receiving what I secured twice, and that’s tens of billions of dollars in American aid for the defence budget, prepare yourselves and get used to the fact that it won’t happen because America has changed.”
As the possibility of reduced US financial support looms in the coming years, the US House passed a defence bill provision this past summer aimed at strengthening military technology ties between the two countries.
Section 219 of the “2027 National Defence Authorization Act” calls for substantially deeper defence cooperation between the US and Israel.
Dozens of non-governmental organisations have described the proposal as “exceptionally dangerous” and urged US politicians to abandon it.
