Trump Says U.S. Will Stop Paying Israel by Year-End Under Netanyahu Deal
Trump says the U.S. will stop paying Israel by the end of 2026 under a deal with Netanyahu. A 2016 MOU pledges $3.8 billion a year through 2028, and Clash Report found no written deal or official statement backing the remarks.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Washington will stop paying Israel by the end of 2026. He cited an arrangement he said he reached with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu months ago.
The remarks came in a Fox News interview on Nov. 3, as Americans voted in the midterm elections. Clash Report has not identified which Fox News program carried the interview.
“We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel, and that we’ll help Israel if they need it,” Trump said.
No paperwork has accompanied the statement. At the time of writing, Clash Report had found no formal U.S. or Israeli document, no White House statement and no comment from the Israeli government.
What Trump Said
In a 50-second clip posted by Clash Report at 13:25 GMT, Trump referred to the “$4 billion a year” the U.S. gives Israel. He said: “We made a deal months ago that we’re stopping, and they’re fine with it.”
Iran International English and i24NEWS carried the remarks at around 13:15-13:30 GMT. i24NEWS summarized Trump as saying he and Netanyahu agreed months ago to halt U.S. payments by year-end.
Ynet reported that Trump told Fox News Israel is “a very successful country” that does not need the aid, in its rendering of his remarks. Ynet quoted him as adding: “We’ll help Israel if they need it, they’re great allies.”
Gaps in the Statement
Trump did not specify whether “paying” refers only to Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants or also covers missile-defense funding.
He gave no detail on what helping Israel “if they need it” would involve. Nor did he say whether any written agreement exists.
His $4 billion figure is a round number. Trump used it last April in remarks on tariff relief, according to Foreign Policy.
The 2016 Framework
The current memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed Sept. 14, 2016, pledges Israel $38 billion across fiscal years 2019 to 2028, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
That amounts to $3.3 billion a year in FMF grants plus $500 million a year for missile defense, or $3.8 billion annually.
Under the MOU, both governments committed not to seek changes to FMF levels for its duration. The document is not law. Congress must appropriate the money each year.
CRS puts U.S. bilateral assistance and missile-defense funding for Israel since 1946 at $174 billion in current dollars. That makes Israel the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II.
CRS figures show $12.5 billion for fiscal 2024, split between $6.8 billion in military aid and $5.7 billion for missile defense. The sum far exceeds the baseline because of wartime supplemental funding.
Pressure in Congress
In July, 103 House Democrats, nearly half the caucus, voted for an amendment to eliminate the $3.3 billion in annual military aid, the Jerusalem Post said. Such a measure would need Senate approval and could face a presidential veto.
The issue has also surfaced in midterm campaigning. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, said on Nov. 2 that he does not pay taxes to buy another country “a bomb or a tank.” He named Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Netanyahu’s Decade-Long Timeline
Netanyahu has said publicly that he wants to end the aid. His stated timeframe has been a decade, not months.
In January, he told The Economist he wanted to “taper off” U.S. military aid to zero over the next 10 years, Foreign Policy reported.
In May, he told CBS “60 Minutes” that he had raised the matter with Trump. “I want to draw down to zero the American financial support, the financial component of the military cooperation that we have. Because we receive $3.8 billion a year. And I think that it’s time that we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support,” he said.
He added that he wanted to begin immediately and complete the process over 10 years, without waiting for the next Congress.
On July 28, Israeli public broadcaster KAN, citing an unnamed political source, said Netanyahu proposed a 10-year phase-out of direct U.S. military aid at a White House meeting with Trump. Missile-defense cooperation would continue under the plan, according to Middle East Monitor, citing Anadolu.
It was the pair’s first meeting since the Iran war began. The White House did not immediately comment, that report said.
On Oct. 23, Netanyahu told Israel’s Economy Channel the aid would end. “It’s over. It’s only a matter of time,” he said, according to ynet. Anadolu noted he gave no end date and cited no formal U.S. decision.
Political Backdrop
Trump’s remarks follow Israel’s Oct. 27 election, which the Jerusalem Post said left the pro-Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu blocs deadlocked. Likud accused Arab parties of stealing the vote as Netanyahu lost his majority.
They also come days after Netanyahu pressed Trump in a “tough” call on Saturday, Oct. 31, to strike Iran right after the midterms, according to Axios. Trump wanted more time for talks.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on Feb. 28.
Kamer Kurunç
Kamer Kurunç is the Team Leader of Clash Report and has led the outlet for four years. He oversees its breaking world news coverage, from the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war to defense and global politics. His focus is fast, verified, source-based reporting. Follow him on X at @kamerknc.
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