Trump Says US Will End Annual Aid to Israel by End of 2026

President Donald Trump said on November 3, 2026, that the United States will stop providing approximately $4 billion in annual funding to Israel by the end of the year. He stated that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached an agreement months earlier to halt the payments. Trump made the remarks in a phone interview with Fox News on the morning voters went to the polls for midterm elections.

Trump said Netanyahu had raised the idea and that Israel no longer needed the assistance because it had become a successful country. He added that the United States would still help Israel if required and that Israel could continue to purchase weapons. The current memorandum of understanding, signed in 2016 under the Obama administration, provides $3.8 billion annually through fiscal year 2028. Of that sum, $3.3 billion is Foreign Military Financing primarily for US-manufactured equipment, with additional funds for missile defense.

Trump linked the announcement to domestic politics. He specifically mentioned Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate who later won Michigan's Senate seat and had opposed unconditional military aid to Israel. Trump said the left used the funding figure as a talking point of unfairness and that he could not allow that to continue. Israeli officials were reported to have been surprised by the timing of the public statement, as the existing agreement does not expire until 2028.

Netanyahu has previously spoken of eventually reducing reliance on US military aid, though no formal end date matching Trump's description had been publicly confirmed before November 3. No immediate detailed statement from Netanyahu appeared in initial reporting. The announcement occurred as support for Israel had become a contested issue among Democratic primary voters and some moderate lawmakers.

Implementation details remain unclear. Ending the funding stream before the memorandum expires would require specific administrative or legislative steps. Trump did not outline the precise mechanism or timeline beyond the end-of-year cutoff. Markets and oil prices showed only modest immediate reaction.

The statement places the longstanding bilateral security assistance arrangement under review at a moment when Democrats have gained control of both chambers of Congress. Future appropriations and any modifications to the memorandum will now face a different legislative balance. The episode also highlights how the issue of aid to Israel has shifted from broad bipartisan consensus to a point of contention in US electoral politics.

Further clarification from both governments is expected on whether the payments will in fact cease on the schedule Trump described and what, if any, alternative arrangements will replace them. The existing agreement remains in force until 2028 unless altered.