Trump announces end of $4 billion yearly US security aid to Israel

The United States will end its roughly $4 billion‑a‑year security assistance to Israel, a deal that began in 2019 under President Obama, President Donald Trump announced on November 3, 2026. The aid, originally set to run until 2028 and valued at $3.8 billion annually for weapons purchases, will be stopped after this year. Trump said Israel is "fine" with the move and that he reached the decision in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long urged greater military autonomy. "We’ll help Israel if they need it," Trump added on Fox and Friends, noting that the United States will continue to sell military hardware to the ally.

Reaction

Israeli opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot condemned the shift, calling it evidence that Prime Minister Netanyahu can no longer be trusted and must be replaced. Netanyahu himself has not commented publicly, according to the Associated Press. Trump also blamed left‑leaning Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El‑Sayed for turning the aid into a political talking point during the midterm elections. He joked that if Americans tire of him, he would move to Israel and become prime minister, claiming a 99 percent approval rating there.

Context

The United States has provided Israel with more than $300 billion in adjusted‑for‑inflation aid since 1948, the largest amount to any country. Netanyahu has said he wants the nation’s reliance on US support to drop to zero within a decade, a goal he first voiced to The Economist in January and reaffirmed to CBS in May. The aid cut marks a shift from direct financial transfers to continued arms sales.