Trump Says US Will Stop Paying Israel $4 Billion a Year by Year's End

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has said Washington will stop paying Israel about $4 billion a year in assistance by the end of 2026, telling Fox News' Fox & Friends on election day, 3 November, that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed months ago to end the payments. "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," Trump said, adding that Israel "doesn't need it" because it is "a very thriving country".

The announcement, made as Americans voted in the midterm elections, has not been accompanied by a formal White House directive or a public confirmation from Netanyahu's office, according to reporting of the interview, and Israeli defence and finance officials were reported to be assessing how weapons already on order would be paid for. The aid in question sits under a 10-year memorandum signed in 2016 committing $38 billion in military assistance for 2019–2028 — $3.8 billion a year, slightly below Trump's $4 billion figure — and the money is appropriated by Congress, which means it cannot simply be switched off by presidential announcement alone. Trump also said Washington would keep selling weapons to Israel, a point that matters as the region watches for what follows the limited US strike on Qeshm Island he confirmed this week.

Analysts quoted in the coverage expect any change to be phased in during 2027 rather than ending abruptly at year's end, with Israel's finance ministry reported to have first learned of the plan through Trump's announcement. For now, the statement stands as a major shift in a decades-old assistance relationship — announced on live television, on election day, with the details still to be settled.