Trump Announces End to $4 Billion Israel Aid
President Donald Trump said the U.S. will end nearly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel, announcing on Election Day that weapons sales to the ally will continue.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States will stop providing Israel with nearly $4 billion in annual military aid, telling Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” that the assistance will be cut off at the end of the year. The announcement came on Election Day, as voters cast midterm ballots. AP reported the halt would take effect starting in 2027.
Trump said Israel is a “thriving” country that no longer needs the money, and that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement on the matter months ago. He said Netanyahu raised the idea himself. The U.S. will continue selling weapons to Israel, Trump said, adding that the country can buy them “whenever they want” and that Washington will still help if needed.
Trump tied the decision partly to domestic politics. He cited Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who has campaigned on ending the aid and redirecting the funds to schools, healthcare and infrastructure, according to Stars and Stripes. Trump said Democratic candidates were using U.S. military support for Israel against Republicans in the midterms, calling it “a bad talking point.”
The context
Israel is historically the largest recipient of U.S. military aid. The current assistance flows through a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding that began in 2019, was signed under President Barack Obama, and provides $3.8 billion annually, DW reported. That agreement is set to run until September 2028, and Trump did not explain in the Fox News interview how the assistance would end before that date.
Since Israel’s founding in 1948, it has received the inflation-adjusted equivalent of more than $300 billion in U.S. economic and military support, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, cited by DW. Netanyahu has previously signaled interest in reducing that dependence. In June, he said Israel needs to “break free from dependency” and build its own independent armaments network, while expressing appreciation for American support.
Why it matters
The change would end a decades-long pillar of U.S. foreign policy and alter the security relationship between the two allies, with implications for the Middle East balance, U.S. defense spending and American domestic politics. Direct aid would stop, but arms sales would continue, shifting Israel from a grant recipient to a paying customer for U.S. weapons.
What’s next
Key details remain unsettled. Trump said the aid “gets cut off at the end of the year,” while AP reported the halt begins in 2027, and the existing agreement formally runs until September 2028. Trump did not explain how the assistance would be wound down ahead of that date. How the Israeli government formalizes the arrangement, and how the issue plays in both the U.S. midterms and Israeli coalition politics, are the main things to watch.
Sources
Trump says US will halt $4 billion in aid to Israel
Trump says the US will stop providing $4 billion in annual aid to Israel starting in 2027, while continuing to sell arms to the close ally.
Trump says Israel will stop getting US aid at year’s end
Trump contends Israel is a ‘thriving’ country that no longer needs the help, announcing the cutoff on Election Day.
US to cut nearly $4 billion in Israel military aid, Trump says
Trump said Democratic candidates were using US military support for Israel against Republicans in the midterms; weapons sales will continue.
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