Trump says US will end roughly $4 billion annual aid to Israel by year-end

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, that the United States will stop providing approximately $4 billion in annual funding to Israel after the end of this year. He described the decision as the result of an agreement reached with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu months earlier. Trump made the remarks in a telephone interview with Fox News on the day of the US midterm elections.

Trump stated that Israel no longer needs the support and that the payments had become a political liability. He specifically referenced criticism from left-wing figures, including Abdul El-Sayed, as a reason the arrangement had to end. “We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel,” Trump said. He added that the United States would still assist Israel if needed.

The figure Trump cited aligns closely with the $3.8 billion annual military aid package under a 10-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 that runs through 2028. Under that arrangement, Israel uses the funds primarily to purchase US weapons systems. Ending the aid abruptly before 2028 would require congressional action, as the current MOU remains in force. Trump has previously spoken of tapering off the assistance over a decade.

Netanyahu has also indicated a desire to reduce US financial support. In a May interview he stated he wanted to draw the annual $3.8 billion down to zero over the next ten years. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office had not issued a public response to Trump’s Tuesday statement as of the latest reports.

The announcement comes amid the US midterm elections, in which control of Congress is at stake and foreign policy, including relations with Israel and the conflict involving Iran, has featured in campaign discourse. Trump linked the decision to domestic political considerations, arguing that continued payments gave opponents an easy line of attack. He described the aid as “a bad talking point.”

US military assistance to Israel has been a consistent feature of bilateral relations for decades. The current package funds missile defence systems, aircraft, and other hardware produced by American manufacturers. Any termination would shift the financial burden of those purchases onto Israeli budgets or alternative financing. Trump indicated that arms sales could continue even if direct aid ceased.

The precise mechanism for stopping the payments remains unclear. Trump referred to $4 billion in “things and money” without specifying whether the cutoff applies to cash transfers, weapons credits, or both. He told interviewers the definition could be flexible. Implementation would still face the legal and budgetary constraints of the existing MOU and annual appropriations.

Israeli officials have long viewed the aid as a strategic partnership tool rather than pure economic support. Netanyahu’s earlier comments about phasing it out reflected a stated preference for greater independence. Trump’s framing on Tuesday cast the end of payments as mutual and already settled, rather than a unilateral US decision.

The statement arrived as voters cast ballots in races that will determine the composition of the House and Senate for the remainder of Trump’s term. Early indications from some contests showed competitive results, though full tallies were still incomplete. Foreign aid levels and Middle East policy have been points of debate in several of those campaigns.

No formal notification of a change in the MOU has been released by the State Department or the Department of Defense. Congressional leaders who oversee appropriations have not yet commented publicly on the practicality of an end-of-year cutoff. The current funding continues under existing authorities until those authorities expire or are modified by law.

Trump has described Israel as a close ally that no longer requires the annual transfer. He has also stated that the United States retains the option to provide assistance in specific circumstances. The gap between the political announcement and the legal structure of the aid package leaves the exact timeline and scope of any change subject to further clarification from both governments and from Congress.