The United States will stop providing Israel with $4 billion in aid — Trump
Kyiv • UNN
Trump said he had reached an agreement with Netanyahu to end annual funding for Israel of $4 billion by the end of the year. Weapons supplies will continue.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end Washington’s $4 billion in funding for Israel after the end of this year, but added that the United States would continue supplying weapons to its close ally in the Middle East, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
As the publication notes, Trump’s statement came as American voters were heading to the polls to take part in midterm elections, the results of which will determine who controls Congress. Trump provided no details, and it is currently unclear what funding he was referring to. He also did not explain how this funding would be terminated at the end of the year, given that the Memorandum of Understanding, which provides Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid annually, does not expire until September 2028.
Discussions are currently underway regarding how Washington’s aid to Israel may change after that date.
Appearing on the Fox News program "Fox & Friends," Trump said that Israel no longer needed this funding. According to him, some Democrats and left-leaning politicians use U.S. financial support for Israel as a pretext to criticize his fellow Republicans.
"As for the payments to Israel: Bibi Netanyahu and I agreed — and the agreement was reached several months ago — that we are ending this $4 billion a year," Trump said. "We have already agreed that by the end of this year, we will stop the payments to Israel. Of course, we will help Israel if the need arises."
It remains unclear why Trump decided to announce on Tuesday an agreement that, according to him, had been reached several months ago.
Israel’s future leadership remains uncertain after the October 27 elections. In them, Netanyahu — who has closely aligned himself with American Republicans — lost his governing majority, while at the same time failing to give his opponents a clear opportunity to remove him from power. The election results paved the way for what are likely to be prolonged negotiations over the formation of a new government.
Neither the White House nor Netanyahu’s office responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
In addition
The level of support for Israel among the American public has declined since the war in Gaza began in 2023 — particularly among Democrats. A June Quinnipiac University poll showed that 48% of voters and 66% of Democrats believe that the United States provides Israel with excessive support. By comparison, when this question was first asked in 2017, such views were held by 16% of voters and 20% of Democrats, respectively.
According to polling data and assessments by independent analysts, in Tuesday’s elections Democrats are likely to wrest control of the House of Representatives from the Republican Party, which is backed by Trump. Control of the Senate remains uncertain.