“US military aid to Israel has always been a cross-the-aisle agreement,” Netanyahu wrote on X.
Trump announced on Tuesday, as Americans voted in the midterm elections, that he had reached an agreement with Netanyahu to end the roughly $4 billion in annual US military assistance to Israel after this year.
Netanyahu said the decision, agreed upon with US President Donald Trump, reflected the strength of ties between the two allies and their ability to adapt to changing circumstances. He described it as “like a bolt from the blue”, pointing out that the existing agreement between the two countries was supposed to remain in place until 2028. However, the announcement has triggered concern within Israel, with President Isaac Herzog saying Trump’s decision to end the annual assistance came as an unexpected development. He indicated, however, that Washington would continue selling weapons to the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday sought to present the proposed end of US military aid as a shift towards a more equal relationship between the two countries, saying Israel’s growing economic strength would allow it to move from receiving assistance to building a partnership with Washington.
We have an (memorandum of understanding) with the US that is supposed to last until 2028 and this is one of the major goals, and therefore a government must be formed and not go to repeated elections,” Herzog said.
He said ending the aid would remove a “bad talking point” that left-wing Democrats had used to criticise his party over its support for Israel. US Vice President JD Vance had said on X that the relationship with Israel had contributed to Republican losses in the midterm elections. “The issue of the American aid worries me greatly, and it also fell on me like a bolt from the blue. The US President also appeared to acknowledge that continued military assistance to Israel had become a political challenge for Republicans.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News, he defended continued military assistance and rejected the suggestion that backing Israel had become politically damaging among Republicans.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, meanwhile, said he was seeking clarification on how Trump’s proposed decision would be implemented.