United States President Donald Trump has said the US will stop about $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of the year, telling Fox News on 3 November that he had reached an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The announcement of the US Israel aid cut came on Election Day, as Americans voted in midterm elections for control of Congress.
Trump said the funding, which he put at $4 billion a year, was no longer needed. “We made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” he said in the interview, adding: “We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel.”
FAKTA: US Israel aid cut
- President Donald Trump said on 3 November that the US will stop about $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of the year.
- Trump said he had agreed the move with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu months ago.
- The existing memorandum of understanding provides $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel each year and runs through 2028.
- Reuters reported that neither the White House nor Netanyahu’s office responded to its requests for comment.
- Trump said the US would still help Israel if it needed help, and that Israel could continue to buy US weapons.
US Israel aid cut announced on Election Day
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” programme on the morning of 3 November, as voters headed to polling stations in the midterm elections. USA Today reported that he described Israel as no longer needing the funding, saying the US had provided it for years.
The aid question has been a contentious issue in the run-up to the midterms. USA Today reported that in July, nearly half of House Democrats voted for an amendment to a State Department spending bill that would have cut off aid to Israel, although the measure did not pass. A New York Times/Siena poll in May found three-quarters of Democratic voters opposed US economic or military support for Israel, the outlet reported.
What remains unclear about the funding
It was not immediately clear which funding Trump meant or how exactly it would be stopped at the end of the year, Reuters reported. The memorandum of understanding that provides $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel each year does not expire until 2028, and conversations have been under way on how Washington’s assistance would evolve beyond that date.
Congress passed a law in 2020 authorising the funding, but the Senate and House of Representatives must still pass appropriations bills every year to distribute and release the funds, Reuters reported.
Netanyahu said in an interview with an Israeli television channel in October that Israel should prepare for American aid not to continue at past levels, saying the US had changed. Trump also said Israel could continue to purchase US weapons with its own funds.
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