Trump Says U.S. Will End $4 Billion a Year in Aid to Israel, Citing a Deal With Netanyahu

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (TodayViralUSA) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States will stop giving Israel about $4 billion a year in aid once this year ends, describing the move as a deal he reached months ago with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The announcement, made as Americans voted in the midterm elections, offered few details and caught Israeli officials off guard.

“Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” He added: “We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel. Now we’ll help Israel if they need it.”

“They don’t need it”

Trump said Israel had become “a very successful country” and no longer required the assistance, and that the idea came from Netanyahu. “He brought it up,” Trump said. He described the aid as “things and money,” saying it could be counted as military hardware, cash or barter, and stressed that Israel would remain free to buy American weapons. “They can buy whatever they want,” he said.

The president also acknowledged a political motive. He said Democrats and the left use the annual payment “as a signal of unfairness,” calling it “almost too easy a target.” U.S. support for Israel and the war in Gaza has been among the most contentious issues of the campaign.

Which money is affected is unclear

It was not immediately clear what funding Trump was referring to. The current 10-year memorandum of understanding between the two countries, which runs from 2019 through 2028, provides $3.8 billion a year, including $3.3 billion in foreign military financing and $500 million for cooperative missile defense programs.

Asked about the remarks, a spokesman for Netanyahu said he did not know anything about them and would check for details, NBC News reported. The White House did not immediately clarify the plan.

Netanyahu has said publicly that he wants to reduce American financial support. In a May interview with CBS, he said he wanted to “draw down” the aid “to zero” over the next decade, adding, “I want to start now.” Israel’s defense ministry has said the two governments have begun talks on a new security framework built around joint investment in research, development and weapons production rather than direct aid.

Markets react

Oil prices fell after the comments, which traders read as a possible sign that the war with Iran could wind down without further escalation. Brent crude dropped about 2% to roughly $103 a barrel by mid-morning in New York, on track for its lowest close since early October, Reuters reported.

Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the United States has sent $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel, according to research by William D. Hartung of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft cited by NBC News.