Donald Trump has said the United States will end its annual financial assistance to Israel from January 2027, describing the funding as unnecessary and a political liability for Republicans. He made the announcement in a telephone interview with Fox News as Americans voted in the midterm elections.
Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had raised the idea. According to Trump, Netanyahu told him Israel did not need the money and understood that the assistance had become a source of political friction.
The president said the aid had become unpopular with many Americans and was being used by the left as an argument against Republicans. He described Israel as a prosperous country and said he and Netanyahu had agreed that it could do without the funding.
The announcement concerns annual financial assistance, not necessarily US arms sales or other forms of support. A 2016 agreement signed under President Barack Obama committed the United States to provide $3.8 billion a year for Israel’s armed forces through 2028. Trump’s stated timeline would bring that assistance to an end a year earlier.
Netanyahu has previously said Israel should become less dependent on US aid and suggested the contributions could end ahead of schedule. It remains unclear whether Trump will carry out his announcement.
Sources: La Vanguardia.