Trump says the US will end €3.5 billion in annual aid to Israel
Donald Trump said Washington would end its annual security assistance to Israel by the end of 2026, ahead of the current agreement’s scheduled end in 2028. The programme provides about €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) a year for weapons and missile-defence cooperation; Trump said arms sales would continue and that he had agreed the change with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The timing and implementation remain unclear, and Congress controls funding.
Bottom line — The €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) programme is not ended by a television announcement; Congress still has a role in funding it.
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Trump gave a rounded figure of about €3.7 billion ($4 billion), while the agreement sets annual assistance at €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion), according to CNN and The Fiscal Times.
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Trump linked the decision to US election politics, naming Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as a critic of the aid, according to CNN and The Fiscal Times.
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Netanyahu has previously said he wanted US military aid phased down to zero, though over a longer period, according to Le Monde and The Fiscal Times.
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Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot said Israel’s defence establishment had learned of the change through the media and criticised Netanyahu, according to CNA.
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CNA reported that analyst Angela Mancini doubted the pledge would be implemented, while CNN quoted former US officials who also questioned whether the administration would follow through.
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The Fiscal Times reported that the existing annual package includes about €3.0 billion ($3.3 billion) in military financing and €460 million ($500 million) for joint missile-defence programmes.
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The Fiscal Times reported that the United States provided at least €20 billion ($21.7 billion) in additional military aid to Israel in the two years after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, citing Brown University’s Costs of War project.