President Donald Trump said Tuesday, November 3, that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to end roughly $4 billion in annual U.S. funding for Israel by the end of the year. Speaking on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” Trump said Israel no longer needed the money, although the United States would help if necessary.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to Trump’s remarks. The precise funding at issue was unclear. An existing agreement provides Israel with $3.8 billion in U.S. military assistance each year and is set to expire in 2028. Discussions have been underway about what American support might look like after that agreement ends. Trump did not explain how the reported deal relates to the current arrangement or whether any funding would continue in another form.
Trump said Israel and European countries could continue buying American weapons. He also said Democratic and left-wing critics had used U.S. payments to Israel to criticize Republicans over U.S. support for Israel. Trump presented the proposed cutoff as a response to those criticisms as well as Israel’s ability to pay for its own needs.
Netanyahu has previously expressed interest in reducing Israel’s reliance on U.S. military aid. In a May interview with CBS, he said he hoped to phase out that support within a decade. In a June letter to a U.S. congressman, he called for Israel to shift from an aid recipient to a partner.
U.S. public opinion on Israel has changed since the Gaza war began in 2023. A June Quinnipiac University poll found that 48% of voters and 66% of Democrats considered the United States too supportive of Israel, compared with 16% and 20%, respectively, when the question was first asked in 2017. Some Democratic candidates critical of Israel have won primaries.