Trump Israel Aid: $4 Billion to End After 2026

In a major Trump Israel aid announcement, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, November 3, that Washington will stop giving Israel about $4 billion a year after the end of this year, under a deal he says he made with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US will still sell weapons to Israel, Reuters reported.

The surprise remarks came as Americans voted in the midterm elections.

What Trump said

Speaking on Fox News' "Fox & Friends", Trump said Israel no longer needed the money. "We've already agreed that by the end of this year we won't be paying Israel. Now we'll help Israel if they need it," he said, according to Reuters.

He also said some Democrats had used US funding for Israel as a "bad talking point" against Republicans. He named Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, who opposes unconditional military aid to Israel.

Questions over how it would work

Trump gave no details on how the money would be stopped. Reuters noted that the current Memorandum of Understanding, which provides $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel each year, runs until September 2028. Congress also has to pass spending bills every year to release the funds.

Neither the White House nor Netanyahu's office replied to Reuters' requests for comment. Netanyahu said in an October interview that Israel should get used to US aid not continuing at past levels "because America has changed".

Reaction in Israel and Washington

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu, said on X that Israelis and the security establishment were learning of a change in strategic ties "through the media".
Don Bacon, a Republican congressman, told CNN his main concern was that "the Israelis didn't know about it".
Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat, said "Zero aid Israel" would be part of his party's agenda if it wins control of Congress.
Jon Alterman of the CSIS think tank questioned the timing, on Election Day and amid talk of a possible new strike on Iran.

Why it matters

Military aid to Israel has long had support from both US parties, but that is changing. Reuters cited a Quinnipiac poll from June in which 48% of voters, and 66% of Democrats, said the US is too supportive of Israel, up from 16% and 20% when the question was first asked in 2017.

The move also comes at a tense time. Israel is heading into coalition talks after an October 27 election in which Netanyahu lost his majority, and the US and Israel remain in conflict with Iran more than eight months after they attacked it. That war has pushed up oil prices, which affects fuel costs in Thailand and across Asia.

Background: US midterm elections: what to know and our report on the stalled Iran-US talks.