US President Donald Trump has announced that Washington will end its annual $4 billion aid to Israel from 2027, while continuing arms sales to its closest ally in the Middle East. Defending the move, Trump said Israel no longer needed American financial assistance, adding, “Look, we give them $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it.”
Speaking to Fox News Channel over a phone call, as cited by news agency The Associated Press (AP) on Election Day for the midterms on Tuesday, Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had raised the proposal with him. He added that the two leaders had been discussing the possibility for the past couple of years.
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The Republican president also said American military assistance to Israel had become a political issue for Democratic candidates, including Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Trump says Israel does not need US financial assistance
Explaining the proposed change in the assistance arrangement, Trump said the support provided to Israel could be viewed either as financial assistance or as military supplies.
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{{/usCountry}}“You can consider it barter. You can consider military aid or cash,” Trump said. “Look, we give them $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it. And I was approached by Bibi Netanyahu, and we’ve been talking about it for a couple of years because it’s a lot of money.”
There was no immediate response from Netanyahu's office on Trump's remarks.
US provided billions in military assistance to Israel
Washington has provided Israel with tens of billions of dollars in military assistance over the past few years.
An academic study released last year estimated that the administrations of former President Joe Biden and Trump had provided at least $21.7 billion in military assistance to Israel since the Gaza war began in 2023, news agency AP reported.
The findings were published on the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel, which triggered the conflict.
A separate study released last year by the Costs of War project at Brown University's Watson School of International and Public Affairs estimated that the US had spent around $10 billion more on security assistance and military operations across the wider Middle East during the preceding two years.
(With inputs from AP)