US President Donald Trump said today that Washington will end approximately $4 billion in annual assistance to Israel by the end of 2026, following discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while continuing to allow the country to purchase American weapons.
Speaking to Fox News during the US midterm elections, Trump said the decision reflected Israel's ability to finance its own military purchases and an agreement reached with Netanyahu.
Trump said Netanyahu had initially approached him about reducing Israel's dependence on American assistance, with discussions continuing over the past several years.
He maintained that Israel no longer required the financial support and could instead purchase military equipment directly from the United States.
The president described the existing assistance as a combination of military equipment, cash and other forms of support.
He also indicated that Washington could provide additional assistance if Israel required it in the future.
The current US-Israel security assistance agreement provides approximately $3.8 billion annually through 2028.
Trump's announcement would therefore bring the assistance to an end two years before the existing arrangement expires.
However, the administration has not clarified how the proposed termination would affect the agreement or which categories of assistance would be discontinued.
Netanyahu's office had not immediately commented on Trump's announcement.
The announcement comes amid growing political divisions in Washington over American military assistance to Israel, particularly following the war in Gaza that began in October 2023.
In July, the US House of Representatives rejected an amendment seeking to terminate assistance to Israel by a vote of 314 to 104.
The proposal, introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, received support from nearly half of House Democrats.
Trump also acknowledged that American assistance to Israel had become an issue in Democratic election campaigns, citing Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
A study published last year estimated that the Biden and Trump administrations had provided at least $21.7 billion in military assistance to Israel since the Gaza war began.
Separately, Brown University's Costs of War project estimated approximately $10 billion in additional American spending on regional security assistance and operations over the preceding two years.
Despite the proposed end to annual assistance, Trump's remarks indicate that military trade between Washington and Israel would continue through direct weapons purchases.