OMM Newsroom
US President Donald Trump said Washington would end its annual financial and military aid to Israel by the end of 2026, AnewZ reports. He claimed the move was based on an agreement he reached with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the two leaders had agreed several months ago to end the funding. He said Israel was now successful enough to operate without US assistance.
“We had agreed with Netanyahu to give Israel $4 billion a year, and several months ago we agreed to stop that,” Trump said. He added that Washington would continue to support Israel if needed and described relations between the two countries as “great.”
Arms sales may continue
The proposed move would end direct financial and military support provided through US aid packages. It would not, however, prevent Israel from buying weapons from the United States.
Trump stressed that commercial arms sales would continue, describing US-made military equipment as “the best weapons in the world.”
The announcement has raised questions about the future of the long-standing security partnership between the United States and Israel. How the agreement would be implemented remains unclear.
Fate of 2016 aid agreement remains uncertain
Trump linked his decision to growing political criticism of US military support for Israel. He said that opposition had gained ground particularly among the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and younger voters.
Trump said the annual $4 billion in aid had become a point of contention for critics of his administration and the Republican Party. “The left is using the $4 billion payment, which everyone knows about and is no secret, as a signal of injustice, and we can’t allow that,” he said.
Trump claimed that Netanyahu had started talks about ending the support after seeing the political controversy surrounding the aid. Israeli officials have not publicly confirmed the reported agreement or announced an official plan to end the assistance.
The announcement has also cast uncertainty over the future of a 10-year agreement signed in 2016 that provides $38 billion in US military aid to Israel for 2019-2028. The agreement includes annual military funding and money for missile defense programs. Ending the support before the agreement expires would mark a major change in defense ties between the two countries.
