WASHINGTON--US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he had made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would stop $4 billion in annual funding to Israel after this year, but will still sell weapons to its close Middle East ally.
In a surprise announcement as US voters headed to the polls for midterm elections that will decide whether Trump's Republicans will lose control of Congress, he cast the move as partly meant to take away a "bad talking point" he said left-wing Democrats had used against Republicans over support for military assistance to Israel.
Trump did not provide details or explain how the funding would be halted at the end of the year, given that the Memorandum of Understanding that provides $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel each year does not expire until September 2028. But he seemed to acknowledge that aid to Israel, no longer the solid source of bipartisan consensus it had been for decades, had become a political liability for him among some voters. Analysts suggested his declaration was timed as an Election Day ploy.
Discussions have been under way on how Washington's assistance to Israel would evolve beyond 2028, and Netanyahu had already said he expects US aid to wind down over time. Trump, however, appeared to signal that his mind was made up about what would mark a significant shift in US-Israel relations, even as the two countries remain in conflict with Iran more than eight months after jointly attacking the Islamic Republic.
Trump told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" programme that Israel no longer needed the funding and that some Democrats and left-wing politicians were using the US financial support to Israel to criticize Republicans. Opinion polls show that the US public's overall support for Israel has declined mostly due to the Gaza war.
"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.
Israel's future leadership is uncertain after an October 27 election in which Netanyahu — who has allied himself closely to US Republicans — lost his governing majority but denied his opponents a clear path to unseat him. The results paved the way for what are expected to be protracted negotiations over a new government.
Neither the White House nor Netanyahu's office responded to Reuters' requests for comment. But Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the rival bloc seeking to oust Netanyahu, wrote on X: "The fact that the security establishment, along with Israeli citizens, is learning about a change in the strategic relationship framework through the media highlights just how much Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct poses a genuine danger. We can no longer rely on him and must replace him."
