President Donald Trump says he has reached an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end billions in annual American military assistance while maintaining weapons sales and security cooperation between the two countries.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, Nov. 3, that the United States will stop providing approximately $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of 2026, following what he described as an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to replace direct American assistance with purchases of U.S. military equipment.
Speaking by telephone with Fox News’ Fox & Friends on Election Day, Trump said the arrangement had been discussed for several years and finalized months earlier. He maintained that Israel is financially capable of purchasing its own military equipment and no longer needs the substantial annual assistance provided by American taxpayers.
According to Reuters’ report on the announcement, Trump said the two governments had agreed to discontinue the payments after December, although he indicated that Washington would remain prepared to assist Israel if circumstances required additional support.
“We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel,” Trump said.
The president described the agreement as a significant change in the financial relationship between the two countries, emphasizing that Israel would continue purchasing American-made weapons rather than receiving them through U.S.-funded military assistance programs.
During the Fox News interview, Trump said Netanyahu had initially approached him about ending the arrangement and that the two leaders had discussed the proposal over an extended period. He also argued that American military assistance to Israel had become a contentious issue in domestic politics, particularly among Democratic candidates criticizing U.S. support for the Israeli government.
Trump specifically mentioned Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, whose campaign has made American military assistance to Israel a prominent issue. The president suggested that ending direct aid would remove a recurring political dispute while allowing the United States to maintain its longstanding defense relationship with Israel.
The announcement represents a potentially substantial departure from a military assistance framework established under former President Barack Obama. In September 2016, Washington and Jerusalem signed a 10-year memorandum of understanding committing the United States to $38 billion in security assistance between fiscal years 2019 and 2028, subject to congressional appropriations.
Under that agreement, Israel receives $3.3 billion annually through the Foreign Military Financing program, which helps foreign governments purchase American weapons and defense equipment, along with $500 million each year for cooperative missile defense programs. The combined $3.8 billion annual commitment is the amount Trump rounded to approximately $4 billion.
The Congressional Research Service’s analysis of U.S. foreign aid to Israel explains that the memorandum is a government-to-government agreement rather than a legally binding treaty, and Congress retains authority over annual appropriations. Although successive administrations have generally followed the agreed funding levels, lawmakers can approve different amounts or authorize additional emergency assistance.
Trump did not explain how the proposed termination would affect funding already appropriated by Congress, existing contractual obligations or the remaining two years of the current agreement. The administration also has not specified whether the arrangement would eliminate all military assistance programs or primarily end annual grants used to finance weapons purchases.
As Israel’s financial newspaper Globes reported, the timing and scope of the proposed changes remain unclear, including whether assistance would be phased out or discontinued immediately after 2026.
Netanyahu’s office had not issued an immediate public response confirming the details of the agreement as of Tuesday’s initial reports.
The proposed shift comes after years of substantial American military support for Israel, particularly following the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza. U.S. assistance has included weapons, ammunition, missile defense equipment and additional emergency funding beyond the regular annual commitment.
According to Associated Press reporting on Trump’s announcement, an academic study estimated that the Biden and Trump administrations provided at least $21.7 billion in military assistance to Israel following the outbreak of the Gaza war. A separate analysis by Brown University’s Costs of War project estimated approximately $10 billion in additional American spending on security assistance and military operations elsewhere in the Middle East over the preceding two years.
The studies underscore the financial scale of American military involvement in the region, although the figures include emergency assistance and other expenditures beyond the regular $3.8 billion annual arrangement.
Israel has long been among the largest recipients of American military assistance, benefiting from defense cooperation that includes advanced aircraft, precision-guided weapons, missile defense systems and intelligence sharing. The relationship also supports American defense manufacturers through weapons procurement financed by U.S. assistance programs.
Ending direct financial assistance would change how Israel pays for American weapons but would not necessarily end defense cooperation, military sales or joint research programs. The United States maintains statutory commitments concerning Israel’s qualitative military edge, a policy intended to ensure that Israel retains military capabilities sufficient to counter regional threats.
Trump’s remarks suggest that he intends to preserve those strategic ties while shifting more of the financial responsibility for weapons purchases to the Israeli government.
The announcement also comes as the administration emphasizes American defense production, including manufacturing capacity for advanced missile systems and other military equipment. Continued Israeli purchases could preserve an important market for U.S. manufacturers even if federal grants financing those purchases are reduced or discontinued.
Questions remain about how quickly the proposed change could be implemented and whether Congress would support modifying assistance levels established under the existing memorandum. Because the current agreement extends through fiscal year 2028, the administration would need to clarify how its proposed 2027 termination fits within the remaining commitments.
For now, Trump’s announcement establishes his stated intention to end the regular annual military aid payments after 2026 while continuing weapons sales and broader security cooperation. The precise financial and legal consequences will depend on subsequent decisions by the administration, Congress and the Israeli government.
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