Israel’s Democrats leader slams Netanyahu over US aid cutoff

Israel’s Democrats party leader Yair Golan on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of an “enormous failure” after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would terminate $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to Israel by year-end, according to Israeli media reports.

Opposition attack

In a post on social media platform X, Golan warned that ending US assistance would seriously damage Israel’s security and quality of life, placing the burden of financing military needs entirely on the Israeli public. “The decision comes at a time when Israel’s defense spending has reached enormous levels and the country needs to replenish its stockpiles of offensive weapons,” he said.

Golan stated that Israel’s air defense capabilities have been depleted after prolonged conflict. “Netanyahu has another enormous failure to his name,” he said, adding that the cutoff would leave citizens bearing full defense costs “at an extremely critical time.”

US termination

Trump announced the decision earlier on Tuesday, stating the US would stop providing financial assistance by the end of this year under an agreement he claimed to have reached with Netanyahu several months ago. His remarks coincided with voting in US congressional midterm elections covering all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that officials in the Defense Ministry and military were surprised by Trump’s announcement. Private broadcaster Channel 12 separately reported that Israel’s Finance Ministry had not known of Washington’s intention to cut military assistance until the declaration was made, noting that the annual $3.8 billion had been expected to fund defense budgets in 2027 and 2028 under a 2016 memorandum committing $38 billion over a decade.

Coalition arithmetic

Netanyahu has previously advocated reducing Israel’s dependence on US military assistance and strengthening its domestic defense industry. Golan’s remarks came a day before the Israeli Central Elections Committee is expected to announce the official final election results on Wednesday.

The elections left Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition secured 48 seats and Arab parties won 19. The opposition remains short of the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority on its own, making support from Arab lawmakers potentially decisive in efforts to form a government, according to Israeli media.