Trump announces US will end $4B annual aid to Israel by 2026

Sudden announcement

Israeli defense and finance officials expressed surprise Tuesday following US President Donald Trump's announcement that Washington will terminate approximately $4 billion in annual military assistance by the end of 2026, stating they had received no prior notification of the decision. Officials at the Finance Ministry, Defense Ministry and military were examining the implications for future military transactions, according to Yedioth Ahronoth's news website Ynet, while public broadcaster KAN quoted a senior defense official who said the announcement was unexpected despite ongoing dialogue with US counterparts.

US rationale

Trump told Fox News that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed months earlier to end the annual assistance, indicating that Israel no longer needed the financial support. The US president added that Washington would nevertheless assist its ally if circumstances required, though he did not specify conditions for such intervention.

Domestic criticism

Yair Golan, leader of Israel's Democrats party, criticized Netanyahu over the development, arguing that terminating US assistance would increase the financial burden on Israeli citizens amid record defense expenditures. In a post on social media platform X, Golan warned that ending the aid would seriously damage Israel's security, stating that "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 added that "Israel's air defense capabilities have been depleted after such a prolonged war," noting in the same post that "Netanyahu has another enormous failure to his name." The current memorandum of understanding, signed in 2016, provides $38 billion over US fiscal years 2019–2028, comprising $3.3 billion annually in military financing and $500 million for joint missile defense programs.