Trump announces the cessation of annual US aid to Israel worth $4 billion... for this reason

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States will stop providing $4 billion in aid to Israel by the end of the year, justifying this by saying that Israel “no longer needs it.”

Speaking to Fox News on the morning of Election Day, Trump hinted that US aid to Israel had become an important political card used by Democrats, wondering why Republicans had to “endure criticism” from candidates, such as Abdul Rahman Al-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Michigan, at a time when Israel no longer needed this aid.

Trump said: "It's a negative political point. When a question arises like: 'Why don't we give everyone $4 billion?' “Knowing that Israel tops the list, as we give it more than any other party, the truth is that it no longer needs it.”

The United States provides Israel with military aid worth $3.8 billion annually, under a 10-year memorandum of understanding, which entered into force in 2018 and is scheduled to expire in 2028. Trump appears to be proposing to end this memorandum by the end of this year.

Trump explained that if Israel needed these funds, he would have continued to provide aid, but added that he had "reached an agreement" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The last announced contact between the two leaders took place on Saturday, and it remains unclear whether they have spoken since then. CNN has reached out to Netanyahu's office and the White House for comment.

It is noteworthy that Netanyahu has previously spoken publicly about the necessity of ending US military aid to Israel, but he has not previously referred to such a short time frame. In May, the United States and Israel began formal talks on a new agreement to replace the current memorandum of understanding, although it is unclear whether any formula or framework has been reached.

A few days before last week's elections, Netanyahu told an Israeli news channel that the end of US aid to Israel was imminent, saying: "If you think that we will continue to receive tens of billions of dollars in American aid that we have twice secured for the defense budget, then you should get used to the idea that we will not get it."

In March 2025, the Trump administration also approved a $4 billion military aid package for Israel, following the collapse of the second ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

When Trump was asked during the interview with Fox News whether he meant stopping military aid worth $4 billion or stopping transferring aid in cash, he replied: “You can call it whatever you want.”

Trump added: “You can consider it a barter, or military aid, or cash. We are giving them the equivalent of $4 billion, whether in the form of equipment or money, and they do not need it. Bibi Netanyahu contacted me, and we discussed this matter for two years, because it is a huge amount.”

He continued by saying that Israel can "buy whatever it wants."