'We won't be paying Israel': Trump says $4 billion funding to stop end of the year

US president Donald Trump on Tuesday said Washington will stop providing $4 billion in annual funding to Israel after the end of 2026, claiming the country no longer needs American financial support. Speaking to Fox News Trump said he had reached an agreement with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu months ago to end the payments. “We've already agreed that by the end of this year we won't be paying Israel,” he said, adding that the US would still help if Israel needed it. He said Netanyahu had approached him about ending the assistance and had been “very understanding” of the decision. The announcement appears to conflict with the existing US-Israel memorandum of understanding, which provides $3.8 billion in annual military aid and runs until 2028. The agreement requires Congress to pass annual appropriations bills to release the funds. “You can consider it barter. You can consider military aid or cash,” he said. “Look, we give them USD 4 billion of things and money, and they don't need it. And I was approached by Bibi Netanyahu, and we've been talking about it for a couple of years because it's a lot of money.” Trump also linked the decision to domestic political criticism, saying Democrats were using American support for Israel as a talking point against Republicans. He specifically cited Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has opposed unconditional military aid to Israel and argued that US funding should prioritise American citizens. “The left uses the USD 4 billion payment — that everybody knows about, it's no secret — as a signal of unfairness,” Trump said. “And we can't allow that to happen. I don't like that, because it's too easy. It's almost too easy a target. And Bibi and I have been talking, and we've agreed. He was very understanding of it.” The current assistance framework dates to 2016, when then-President Barack Obama signed a 10-year security agreement committing the US to provide Israel with $38 billion in military aid, equivalent to $3.8 billion annually. Under the arrangement, Israel's ability to spend part of the funds on its own military products was to be phased out, with the money eventually directed entirely towards American defence industries. Netanyahu has previously spoken about reducing Israel's dependence on US assistance. In an interview with The Economist in January, he said he wanted to “taper off” American military aid over the next 10 years, adding that such a change was “in the works”. In October, he also said Israel should prepare for the eventual end of US aid. Netanyahu has also spoken about the need for Israel to move away from American military assistance. In October, he said the country should prepare for the end of US aid, even as formal discussions on a successor to the current agreement remain under way. The US has obligations under the Camp David peace accords with Egypt to provide security assistance to both Israel and Egypt. Much of the funding to Israel also comes through foreign military financing, which requires the country to spend the money on American-produced weapons. A reduction in such assistance could therefore affect US defence contractors unless Israel continues purchasing comparable amounts of American military equipment.