Donald Trump says the US will end its $3.8bn annual military aid to Israel, citing an agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to end Washington’s 10-year security assistance agreement with Israel, which provides the country with $3.8bn in annual military aid.
Trump made the announcement on Tuesday during an interview on the US current affairs programme, Fox and Friends, saying Israel had agreed to the decision.
The arrangement, which began in 2019, was signed under former US President Barack Obama three years earlier and is due to run until 2028.
“We’ll help Israel if they need it,” Trump said, adding that he had reached an understanding with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the assistance.
“Israel’s our number one; we give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it … If they did need it, I would say keep it going,” he added.
Under the agreement, Israel receives about $3.8bn annually to support the purchase of American weapons.
According to figures from the Council on Foreign Relations, Israel has received more than $300bn in US economic and military assistance since its establishment in 1948, adjusted for inflation.
The figure is higher than the amount received by any other country since 1946.
Netanyahu has previously expressed a desire to reduce Israel’s reliance on American support and strengthen the country’s military independence.
In June, the Israeli prime minister called for greater military autonomy, while in January he told The Economist that he hoped to achieve the goal within a decade.
He also told US broadcaster CBS in May that he wanted American support to reach “zero”.
Trump also cited criticism from Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat running for the US Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, as part of his reasoning for ending the assistance.
“Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it?” Trump said, referring to Israel and the US military aid arrangement.
