US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Washington has agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt annual aid to Israel by the end of the year. Speaking to Fox News on Fox and Friends after voting in the midterm elections began, Trump stated that the two leaders reached an arrangement months ago to stop the funding.
We give Israel four billion dollars a year, and we made a deal months ago that we are stopping, Trump told the network. We have already agreed that by the end of this year we will not be paying Israel. Now we will help Israel if they need it.
It was unclear which specific form of assistance Trump was discussing during the interview. The US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
When asked why the United States was ending the assistance, Trump pointed to Israel’s financial standing. Because they do not need it, he said. If they did need it, I would say keep going.
Financial backing for the Israeli military, alongside political campaign contributions from supporters of Israel to American candidates, has emerged as a major flashpoint for both Democrats and Republicans. Public criticism of Israel by political leaders in recent years marks a shift from decades of firm bipartisan support.
In July, the US House of Representatives defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel. Nearly half of Democrats supported the measure, showing a widening rupture between progressive lawmakers and Israel over its war in Gaza.
The House voted 314 to 104 to reject the proposal. Representative Thomas Massie, an outgoing Republican critic of Middle East policy from Kentucky, had offered the measure as an amendment to a State Department spending bill.
Political reactions to the timing of the announcement followed party lines. Former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on social media that the shift would not impact election outcomes. Amazing how being on the verge of Republicans getting wiped out in the midterms changes hearts and minds, Greene wrote on X. Trump getting permission from Netanyahu to end annual aid to Israel is not going to change today is election results.
