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Trump says US will end $4 billion yearly Israel aid by year's end

Trump says Netanyahu raised the idea and Israel can still buy US arms, but it is unclear which funding he meant.

31 news outlets reported this
Liberal11 outletsTrump's aid halt and the political falloutCenter9 outletsWhat ending the aid means for US-Israel tiesConservative11 outletsTrump's "they don't need it" and the political target
Published 4 min read
Overview

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Election Day for the midterms, that the United States will stop giving Israel $4 billion a year in aid. In a phone interview on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," he said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a deal months ago and that the money would be "cut off at the end of the year." He said Netanyahu brought up the idea, that Israel does not need the aid, and that the US would help if Israel needed it.

Trump said Israel can still buy American weapons. It was not clear which funding he meant. A memorandum of understanding provides about $3.8 billion a year in US military aid.

NBC News, Fox News and the New York Post say it runs through 2028, while the Washington Examiner writes that it was already set to expire at the end of 2027. Netanyahu's office had no immediate comment, and NBC News reports a spokesman said he knew nothing about the remarks. Netanyahu has previously said he hoped to wean Israel off US military aid over the next decade.

Trump also said the aid has become a talking point for Democrats, naming Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. NBC News reports crude fell more than 3% to around $101 a barrel after the comments. Yair Golan, head of Israel's left-wing Democrats party, said ending the aid deals a severe blow to Israel's security.

Key figures
  • $4 billion yearly aid Trump says the US will stop — NBC News
  • $3.8 billion annual US military aid under the memorandum due to expire in 2028 — NBC News
  • around $101 per barrel Brent crude after falling more than 3%, per NBC News — NBC News
  • $21.7 billion US military aid to Israel in the two years after Oct. 7, 2023, per a Quincy Institute paper — NBC News
  • 314 to 104 House vote in July defeating an amendment to cut off aid — Al Jazeera English

Three sides of the story

Liberal11 outlets

Trump's aid halt and the political fallout

NBC News leads with Trump saying he made a deal with Netanyahu to stop the $4 billion a year, "without providing details." It adds that oil prices slid, with Brent crude down more than 3%, and quotes Yair Golan, head of Israel's left-wing Democrats party, who says the cessation "deals a severe blow to Israel’s security." The Independent says it is unclear which funding Trump meant and cites a June Quinnipiac poll in which 48% of voters and 66% of Democrats say the US is too supportive of Israel.

Al Jazeera English sets the announcement beside a July House vote of 314 to 104 that defeated an amendment to cut off aid, and quotes former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote on X that it "isn’t going to change today’s election results." The Boston Globe ran the AP report, which says Trump stated the US will stop the aid in 2027 but will sell arms to Israel.

Center9 outlets

What ending the aid means for US-Israel ties

The Las Vegas Review-Journal runs the AP wire report. It opens with Trump saying the US will stop the $4 billion a year in 2027 but will sell arms to Israel, quotes him calling the aid "barter," military aid or cash, and notes Netanyahu's office had no immediate comment. Newsweek, under "Donald Trump Announces End to Israel Payments As Americans Head to Polls," says Trump gave no detail on what kind of funding might continue and notes the roughly $3.8 billion memorandum due to lapse in 2028.

Its closing assessment is that the move "could curb growing criticism of Israel" in Washington, and it points to Israel's strengthening economy. NewsNation, under the headline "US will halt $4B in aid to Israel, Trump says," notes that American military aid to Israel has totaled tens of billions of dollars in recent years. The Journal's news report says the two countries had already talked about phasing out aid, though Trump's comments suggest it could happen much faster than expected.

Conservative11 outlets

Trump's "they don't need it" and the political target

The Washington Examiner writes that Trump revealed all military funding to Israel will be cut by year's end, and says it "seems to confirm months of rumors and speculation." It adds that ending the funding early is hard to describe as anything other than "a critical blow to the White House's relationship with the Jewish state." The New York Post headlines "They don’t need it," quotes Trump calling the aid "the best talking point that these lunatics on the left have," and says he insisted Israel can still buy American weapons.

The Post adds that Trump left open whether "the end of the year" means the current agreement ends early. Fox News highlights that Israel can still buy weapons, ties the announcement to Michigan's Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, and relays Trump calling the aid "things and money." The Epoch Times, headlined "Trump Says US Will End $4 Billion Annual Support for Israel After 2026," reports his announcement on Nov. 3 and quotes him saying Netanyahu "brought it up."

Where outlets disagree
All sources: 36 articles from 31 outlets

Liberal (12)

Center (10)

Conservative (14)

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