Trump to Cut Off Aid to Israel: “No More Money Needed”

【Financial News correspondent Lee Byung-chul, New York】  U.S. President Donald Trump said he would end annual aid to Israel worth $4 billion (about 5.7 trillion won) starting at the end of this year. He said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already agreed to do so several months ago. However, an existing agreement requiring the United States to provide Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid each year remains in effect through 2028, raising questions about the scope of the aid cutoff and how it would be implemented.
President Trump appeared on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on the 3rd (local time) and said, “Bibi Netanyahu and I agreed several months ago to end the United States’ annual $4 billion in aid to Israel.”
He said, “We have already agreed that we will stop paying Israel any more money by the end of this year,” adding, “We will help if Israel needs it, but it doesn’t need support right now.”
President Trump stressed that Israel is capable of buying the weapons it needs even without U.S. military assistance. He said, “Israel can buy whatever it wants. Europe can, too,” adding, “We produce the best weapons in the world.”
However, it is unclear what aid President Trump was referring to ending. Under an existing memorandum of understanding (MOU), the United States provides Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid annually. The agreement is set to expire in 2028, and the two countries have been discussing how to adjust their aid framework after that.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has also said he intends to reduce Israel’s reliance on U.S. military aid. In an interview with CBS last May, he said he hoped Israel would be free of U.S. military assistance within the next 10 years. In a letter he sent to a U.S. House member last June, he also stressed, “The time has come for Israel to transition from an aid recipient to a partner.”
The announcement also drew attention because it came on the day of the U.S. midterm elections. President Trump claimed that Democrats and left-wing politicians were using the issue of aid to Israel to attack Republicans.
He said, “The left is using the $4 billion in aid that everyone knows about as a symbol of unfairness,” adding, “We can’t let that happen.”
Public opinion in the United States on aid to Israel has deteriorated sharply since the war in the Gaza Strip. A Quinnipiac University poll last June found that 48% of all voters and 66% of Democratic supporters said the United States was giving Israel too much support. Those figures were a substantial increase from 16% and 20%, respectively, in the same poll in 2017.
Calls to reassess the longstanding policy toward Israel are also growing within the Democratic Party, with candidates critical of Israel winning primaries.
Netanyahu’s office, however, did not immediately comment on President Trump’s remarks. It also remains unclear whether the existing military aid agreement will be ended early or how the budget will be disbursed in practice.

[email protected] Correspondent Lee Byung-chul Reporter