Trump Announces End of Annual Aid to Israel, Citing Costly Spending

The United States will stop providing $4 billion in aid each year to Israel in 2027 while continuing to sell military hardware to the country, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. Trump made the remarks during a phone call with Fox News Channel on Election Day for the US midterm elections. He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had approached him about the proposal and that the two leaders had been discussing it for a couple of years. Trump argued that Israel no longer needed the assistance and that the spending was costly for the United States. He also said US aid to Israel had become a talking point for Democratic candidates, including Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. “You can consider it barter. You can consider military aid or cash,” Trump said. “Look, we give them $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.” BREAKING: President Trump says the U.S. will end roughly $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of the year, revealing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the decision. “Because they don’t need it,” Trump said during an exclusive interview on @foxandfriends, describing Israel as a thriving country that no longer requires American financial assistance. Trump also said Netanyahu raised the idea of ending the aid himself. He emphasized that Israel remains one of America’s most reliable allies as the two countries prepare for a major shift in their financial relationship. Download the FOX News app for the latest details: https://t.co/ISpW9Fc0R3 — Fox News (@FoxNews) November 3, 2026 There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office, news agency Associated Press reported. The announcement points to a proposed shift in the way Washington supports Israel—from annual assistance to arms sales, though Trump did not provide further details about how the arrangement would work. “My approval rating in Israel is 99 per cent. If people in the United States get fed up with me, I’ll move to Israel and become prime minister.” Trump said this jokingly in the interview. US President Donald Trump jokingly says he could move to Israel and become prime minister if Americans ever grow tired of him, claiming his popularity in Israel has reached 99 percent. https://t.co/Az9iNw9V4z — Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) November 3, 2026 Trump had earlier joked that he could move to Israel and run for prime minister, claiming he had overwhelming support in the country. The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military assistance to Israel in recent years. An academic study published in 2025 estimated that the administrations of former president Joe Biden and Trump provided at least $21.7 billion in military assistance to Israel after the Gaza war began in 2023. The study was published on the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks that triggered the conflict. A separate study by the Costs of War project at Brown University’s Watson School of International and Public Affairs estimated that the US spent roughly $10 billion more on security aid and military operations elsewhere in the Middle East over the preceding two years. The studies relied largely on open-source material and offered some of the most comprehensive estimates of US military aid to Israel and the costs of direct American military involvement in the region, the AP reported. The announcement comes as the United States carries out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes were described by some US officials as defensive measures aimed at preventing Iranian attacks on commercial shipping. The developments came amid diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has said it has a plan to reopen the waterway within two days if Washington meets its conditions. Trump has also said a deal could be reached, though no agreement has been announced. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical shipping route for global energy supplies. The latest strikes and uncertainty over negotiations have renewed concerns about the risk of a wider regional conflict. (With inputs from agencies)