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

President Donald Trump said on November 3, 2026, that the United States will stop providing roughly $4 billion in annual funding to Israel by the end of the year under an arrangement reached with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump made the statement in a telephone interview with Fox & Friends on election morning. He described the decision as one Netanyahu himself raised months earlier. "We've already agreed that by the end of this year we won't be paying Israel," Trump said. "Now we'll help Israel if they need it."

He framed the move as a response to political attacks. Trump singled out Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and other Democrats who had criticized US support for Israel. "Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don't need it?" he asked. He added that Israel had become "a very successful country" and no longer required the payments.

The existing memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 provides $3.8 billion a year in military assistance, mostly for purchases of American equipment. That agreement runs through fiscal year 2028. Trump did not explain the legal mechanism for ending the payments early. Israeli officials expressed surprise, according to reports from The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post. The Prime Minister's office issued no immediate public comment.

Trump said arms sales would continue. "They can buy whatever they want," he told Fox News. He also mentioned new US production of Patriot and Tomahawk systems as part of the broader relationship.

The announcement came while voters went to the polls in midterm elections dominated by concerns over living costs and the Iran conflict. US public support for Israel has declined since the Gaza war, according to multiple surveys cited by Reuters and others. Trump noted that Democrats had used the aid figure as a campaign talking point.

Analysts pointed to the practical difficulties. Thomas Warrick of the Atlantic Council told Al Jazeera that cutting off the aid by the end of 2026 would likely require congressional action and would not happen on the timeline Trump outlined. Conversations about the post-2028 framework had already been underway.

The 2016 pact was the third consecutive decade-long US-Israel military aid agreement. Previous packages under Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama had also centered on foreign military financing that Israel spends primarily on US-made systems. Ending the cash component while preserving the ability to purchase weapons would mark a structural shift.

Israeli defense sources, speaking anonymously to local media, said the claim caught security and finance officials off guard. No joint statement confirming the deal has been released by either government. The White House has not issued a formal clarification beyond Trump's interview remarks.

The timing places the issue directly into the new congressional landscape. With Democrats set to control both chambers starting in January, any formal change to the aid relationship will face a different set of votes than the Republican majorities that approved earlier packages. Trump's statement also removes one line of attack that Democratic candidates had used in close races, including the Michigan Senate contest that El-Sayed won.

Whether the payments actually stop on December 31 remains an open question of law and politics. The memorandum itself contains no automatic cutoff, and Congress holds the power of the purse. For now, the public record consists of Trump's description of a months-old understanding with Netanyahu and the absence of any confirming Israeli statement.