President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States will end annual aid to Israel, telling Fox News that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed the move because the country no longer requires the funding.
Trump Announces End to Aid on Election Day
Speaking by phone on Election Day to Fox News, Trump said the nearly $4 billion provided annually to Israel would be cut off at the end of the year. Al Jazeera reported that Trump cited Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of U.S. support for Israel, while defending the decision. Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it?
Trump said, as quoted by Fox News. It’s a bad talking point.
The announcement arrived as voters cast ballots in midterm elections where control of Congress hung in the balance. The Guardian noted that public backing for Israel has changed as anger grew over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. A Quinnipiac University poll released in September showed that forty-eight percent of Americans believed the U.S. was too supportive of Israel, according to The Guardian.
BREAKING: President Trump says the U. S. will end roughly $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of the year, revealing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the decision. “Because they don’t need it,” Trump said during an exclusive interview on @foxandfriends,… pic.twitter.com/ItBUcMrtuZ
Current Agreement Set to End in 2028
Under the current security agreement signed in 2016 under the Obama administration, the U.S. provides approximately $3.8 billion a year through a 10-year memorandum of understanding that runs through fiscal year 2028, as detailed by PolitiFact. That funding includes foreign military financing grants that allow Israel to purchase American hardware such as F-35 fighter jets, alongside joint missile defense programs, according to The Guardian.
Trump maintained that Israel can continue purchasing U.S. weaponry independently. They can buy whatever they want,
he said on Fox News.
Describing the nature of the assistance, Trump added: You can consider it barter. You can consider military aid or cash. Look, we give them $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it. And I was approached by Bibi Netanyahu, and we’ve been talking about it for a couple of years because it’s a lot of money.
Top officials from Israel’s defense establishment, the Foreign Ministry, and the Finance Ministry fell out of their seats when Trump made the live television announcement, while Israeli and American officials had previously held meetings regarding memorandums of understanding for future weapons sales. Josh Paul, who spent more than eleven years as the director of congressional and public affairs at the State Department bureau overseeing arms transfers before resigning in 2023, stated that a total cutoff starting January 1 is not plausible. Aaron David Miller, a State Department official from 1978 to 2003 across both Democratic and Republican administrations, noted that while Israel can probably manage without the aid, the plan reduces a very powerful talking point for Israel’s detractors in both parties. Matt Duss of the Center for International Policy, a former aide to Bernie Sanders, explained that aid is not being zeroed out entirely.
Politicians and Markets React to The Surprise Declaration
Israeli political figures reacted strongly to the surprise declaration. Yair Golan, a leader in Israel’s opposition bloc, stated that the burden of funding defense needs would now fall entirely upon the Israeli public, according to The Boston Globe. Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, called Netanyahu’s conduct dangerous in remarks reported by Yahoo.
Financial markets also felt the impact of the announcement. Global equity markets wobbled and oil prices descended on Tuesday, with Brent crude futures falling 1.45 percent to $103.28 a barrel, according to Yahoo Finance citing Reuters reporting. In wider financial trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.18%, the S&P 500 rose 0.56%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.97%.
Earlier coverage: Trump Warns Iran and Clashes With Netanyahu Over Qatar Talks