Donald Trump: USA no longer wants to pay military aid to Israel in the future

According to Trump, Israel recently received four billion dollars (around 3.6 billion euros) annually from the USA, and further aid was originally announced until 2028. What would happen next was the subject of discussions. According to the US President, the four billion includes “things and money.”

The idea for the stop came from Netanyahu, who wanted to stop the "waste" of funds that has been going on for years, Trump said. According to him, Israel is no longer dependent on it: "If they actually needed them, I would say: Go ahead!" Instead, the country should now have the opportunity to buy weapons from the USA. “We will help Israel if it needs help,” said Trump.

Reform as an election gift?

He also referred to domestic political disputes: Some Democrats and left-wing politicians would use the financial aid as an argument to criticize the Republicans. The announcement of the decision coincides with the midterm elections. Netanyahu had already announced in May that he wanted to "reduce US military aid to zero" in a few years. However, cooperation with the USA, particularly in missile defense, should continue.

The Israeli news portal "ynet" paints a less uniform picture: Israel's Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Defense and the country's armed forces were surprised by Trump's announcement, according to a report.

The left-liberal opposition politician Gilad Kariv demanded in an X-post that Israel's prime minister promptly "disclose all details of his deal with President Trump regarding military aid." If it were actually discontinued, it would be "another serious attack on the security of all Israeli citizens on Netanyahu's account."