President Donald Trump said that the United States would stop providing approximately $4 billion in annual funding to Israel after the end of this year, claiming he had reached an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the assistance.
Trump announced during a telephone interview with Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” saying Israel no longer needed American financial support and that the two leaders had agreed to discontinue the funding.
“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” Trump said. “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 added.
However, it remained unclear which specific funding arrangements Trump was referring to or how the proposed change would be implemented. According to Reuters, the existing US-Israel memorandum of understanding provides $3.8 billion in annual American military assistance through 2028. Discussions have been underway about the future of US assistance beyond that agreement.
Neither the White House nor Netanyahu’s office immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
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Israel aid becomes a political issue
Trump’s announcement comes amid growing debate in the United States over military assistance to Israel, particularly following the Gaza war that began in 2023.
The issue has increasingly divided Democratic voters and become a subject of debate in the 2026 midterm elections. Trump specifically mentioned Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has opposed unconditional American military assistance to Israel and argued that U.S. funding should prioritize American citizens.
Trump criticized El-Sayed and other left-wing politicians for using the financial assistance as an argument against Republicans.
A June Quinnipiac University poll cited by Reuters found that 48% of American voters and 66% of Democrats believed the United States was too supportive of Israel. When the question was first asked in 2017, the corresponding figures were 16% and 20%.
Criticism of U.S. support for Israel has also emerged within Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, with some supporters questioning the country’s involvement in the conflict with Iran.
Netanyahu has discussed reducing dependence on U.S. aid
Netanyahu has previously indicated that Israel intends to reduce its dependence on American military assistance.
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In an October interview with an Israeli television channel, Netanyahu warned that future U.S. financial support could not be taken for granted, saying that America’s political climate had changed. He had also told CBS in May that he hoped to wean Israel off U.S. military assistance within a decade.
Meanwhile, U.S. military assistance to Israel operates under congressional authorization and annual appropriations. Although Congress passed legislation authorizing the funding in 2020, the House of Representatives and Senate must approve appropriations each year to distribute the money.
Trump’s announcement therefore leaves questions about the timing, legal and budgetary mechanisms of any early termination of the existing assistance arrangement.
The president said the United States would continue helping Israel if necessary, while maintaining that the country could purchase American weapons without relying on annual financial assistance.
The central editorial distinction is that Trump announced an intended end to funding, but the existing $3.8 billion military assistance agreement runs through 2028. The report therefore does not present the proposed cutoff as an already implemented policy.