Trump says US will end military aid to Israel by the end of the year
Seven Lights
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would end military aid to Israel by the close of the year, describing the annual programme of some $3.8 billion, the largest such commitment Washington makes to any country, as no longer necessary.
“We were giving them $4bn … But it gets cut off at the end of the year,” Mr Trump said in an interview on Fox & Friends, broadcast as voting opened in the midterm elections. He said the aid would be replaced by arms sales. “Israel’s our No 1; we give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it … If they did need it, I would say keep it going.”
The remarks cut short a 10-year security aid arrangement signed under President Barack Obama in 2016, under which assistance began flowing in 2019 and was set to continue until 2028. Israel received most of the roughly $3.8 billion provided in 2025 as foreign military financing grants used to buy American military hardware, including F-35 fighter jets. A further $500 million went to joint missile defence programmes. The Senate and the House must still pass appropriations bills each year to release the funds.
Mr Trump said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “approached me, and we’ve been talking about it for a couple of years because it’s a lot of money”, and that Israel was “fine” with the end of the aid. Mr Netanyahu had previously suggested tapering American assistance over the following decade; Tuesday’s announcement would accelerate that timeline sharply.
Israeli officials appeared taken by surprise. It came days after Mr Netanyahu’s party lost its majority in the Knesset in last week’s elections, with the opposition moving to assemble a coalition to replace him. “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,” said Gadi Eisenkot, a centre-right rival seeking the prime ministership. Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party, wrote that “a responsible prime minister would have fought to increase American aid, not dismantle it”.
Mr Trump indicated that he had decided to end the aid because it had drawn criticism from outspoken candidates, naming the Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. “Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like El-Sayed when they don’t need it?” he said. “It’s a bad talking point.”
The next step falls to Congress, which must appropriate the remaining funds before the programme lapses at year’s end.