US President Donald Trump has said that American military aid to Israel will end by the end of the year, prompting surprise among Israeli officials and calls from opposition politicians for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to explain the decision. Trump said in a Fox News phone interview that he and Netanyahu had agreed months ago to end the assistance.
The announcement appears to conflict with the current US-Israel agreement, under which Israel is due to receive $3.8 billion a year through September 2028. The 2016 arrangement covers a total of $38 billion for 2019 to 2028. Netanyahu had previously spoken of phasing out the aid over the next decade, rather than stopping it abruptly.
Israeli outlet Ynet reported that the Finance Ministry had been caught off guard. If the funding ends at the close of this year, the cutoff would come two years earlier than scheduled, the outlet said. Senior economic officials reportedly described the potential loss of two years of aid—equivalent to $8 billion—as a serious economic decision, saying the shortfall would have to be covered through taxes.
Opposition leaders sharply criticized Netanyahu. Gilad Kariv accused the prime minister of putting Israel’s security at risk and said he would be asked to disclose the details of his agreement with Trump to a parliamentary committee. Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, said the defense establishment and Israeli public had learned of the change from media reports. He called for Netanyahu to answer questions immediately and said he could no longer be trusted.
The reporting also notes that US-Israeli cooperation, particularly on missile defense, is expected to continue. The Israeli government had not officially commented on the reported aid cutoff, according to Ynet.
Sources: FAZ.