Trump Says US Will End $4 Billion Annual Aid to Israel by Year End

President Donald Trump told Fox News on November 3, 2026, that the United States will stop providing $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of the year. He said the decision followed an agreement reached months earlier with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump described the arrangement as one in which Washington currently supplies Israel with roughly $4 billion a year in funding and equipment. "We've already agreed that by the end of this year we won't be paying Israel," he said. "Now we'll help Israel if they need it." He added that Israel no longer requires the assistance because it has become a successful country.

The existing memorandum of understanding that channels $3.8 billion annually in military aid to Israel runs through 2028. Trump did not specify how the earlier cutoff would be implemented or whether it requires congressional action. He indicated that Israel could continue to purchase weapons from the United States if needed.

Trump framed the move partly in political terms. He said Democratic candidates, including Michigan Senate contender Abdul El-Sayed, had used the aid package as a talking point against Republicans. "Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don't need it?" he asked. He also stated that Netanyahu had raised the idea himself.

Israeli officials had not issued a formal response by late afternoon Eastern time. Earlier in the year, Netanyahu had spoken of tapering US military assistance over a decade. The sudden announcement on the morning of the US midterm elections surprised some Israeli security and finance officials, according to reports from Israeli media.

US military aid to Israel is structured so that most of the funds are spent on American-made equipment, supporting US defense manufacturers. Ending the package would remove a steady revenue stream for those firms while shifting the relationship toward commercial arms sales. Congress retains authority over appropriations, so any abrupt change would likely face legislative review.

The statement arrived as voters went to the polls in an election widely viewed as a referendum on Trump's second term. Cost of living and the ongoing conflict involving Iran ranked among top voter concerns in exit surveys. Aid to Israel has become a sharper dividing line within both US parties in recent years.

Trump has previously described Israel as a close ally and said Washington would continue to assist if circumstances required it. The practical effect of the announced cutoff remains unclear until formal steps are taken. Israeli leaders have long argued that the aid strengthens joint capabilities against regional threats, while critics in the US have questioned the scale relative to other priorities.

Whether the timeline Trump described can be met will depend on negotiations between the two governments and action by the US Congress. The existing aid framework was negotiated under a previous administration and has been treated as a multi-year commitment. Any revision would mark a significant shift in the financial structure of the US-Israel security relationship.

Observers noted that the announcement coincided with limited US strikes the previous night on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz. Those strikes were described by US officials as defensive responses to Iranian surface-to-air missile fire. The broader regional conflict continues to shape both US domestic politics and Middle East security calculations.