Trump says US will end $4bn annual military aid to Israel in 2027 - Middle East Eye
US President Donald Trump has said that his government will not give its yearly military aid to Israel starting next year due to a prior understanding he made with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuters reported.
Trump added that weapon sales and other forms of military cooperation would continue.
Speaking on Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said that the two had agreed months ago to end the military aid since Israel no longer needed it.
“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we're stopping,” Trump said.
“We've already agreed that by the end of this year we won't be paying Israel. Now we'll help Israel if they need it,” he added.
Trump said Israel would be able to purchase weapons from the United States and other countries, suggesting that the change would affect the form of assistance rather than bring an end to military ties.
“They can buy whatever they want. They can buy whatever they want. So can Europe. We make the greatest weapons in the world,” he said. The comments come as US politicians face growing electoral pressure over support for Israel ahead of the midterm elections.
A June Quinnipiac University poll found that 48 per cent of American voters and 66 per cent of Democrats believed Washington was too supportive of Israel, up from 16 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, when the question was first asked in 2017.
The United States currently gives Israel $3.8 billion a year, in a 10-year memorandum of understanding that runs from 2019 to 2028.
The package also includes $3.3bn in foreign military financing and $500m in cooperative missile defence programmes.
The defence ministry of Israel stated that talks have already begun between the US and Israel on a new framework of security cooperation.
In May, the ministry had said that the two sides had begun formal talks to replace the current memorandum, with discussions focusing on joint investment in research, development and weapons production.
The suggested framework was to move the relationship from aid to a more reciprocal partnership.
The Congressional Research Service, a non-partisan research body that advises the US Congress, said in a July report that US and Israeli officials were discussing a possible shift after 2028 away from direct military aid and towards joint programmes.
