Trump says US will end $4 billion Israel aid after 2026

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, November 3, that the United States will stop its roughly $4 billion in yearly payments to Israel at the end of 2026. He said the change came from a deal he made with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu months ago. "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 in an interview with Fox News' Fox and Friends, Reuters reported.reuters.com

The announcement, which aired on the morning of the midterm elections, could bring the biggest change in decades to Washington's support for its closest Middle East ally. But it leaves open how the plan fits with an aid agreement that still has two years to run.

'They don't need it'

Trump described Israel as "a very thriving country" that can now buy its own weapons. He said the aid covered "things and money" and called it military aid, cash or "barter," according to Fox News. He also said the idea came from Netanyahu. Trump argued that Democrats and left-wing politicians had been using US funding for Israel as a talking point against Republicans, according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear what form of aid he meant, Al Jazeera noted.foxnews.com+2

Questions over existing deal

The current memorandum of understanding was signed in 2016. It commits $38 billion over 2019 through 2028, made up of $3.3 billion a year in military financing and $500 million a year for missile defense programs such as Iron Dome, Israel Hayom reported. Trump gave no details of the arrangement, and Israel has not issued any official statement confirming its terms or when it would take effect, the paper said.israelhayom.com

Earlier this year, Netanyahu said he wanted to reduce the aid gradually over the next decade, which is a much slower timeline than the one Trump described, Haaretz reported. Since then, the two governments have been working on a new defense framework that would cut direct financial aid while increasing joint weapons development, according to Israel Hayom.haaretz.com+1

A shifting political backdrop

Aid to Israel has become a point of conflict in both US parties. In July, the House voted 314 to 104 to reject Representative Thomas Massie's amendment to cut off the aid, even though nearly half of Democrats supported it, Al Jazeera reported. The Financial Times has reported that Trump told a Jewish donor "my people are starting to hate Israel," Israel Hayom noted.aljazeera.com+1

Israel has received more than $300 billion in inflation-adjusted US aid since 1948, citing Council on Foreign Relations figures, The Independent reported. It also said Netanyahu is fighting to stay in office after failing to keep his majority in last week's Israeli elections, while the US-Israeli conflict with Iran remains unresolved.independent.co.uk