Trump says US will end $3.8 billion in annual aid to Israel

US President Donald Trump said on November 3, the day of the US midterm elections, that the United States would stop the roughly $3.8 billion in aid it gives Israel each year by the end of this year, Reuters, NBC News and Fox News reported.

What Trump said

In an interview with "Fox and Friends," Trump said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed on the move months ago. "If Israel needs help, we will help," he said, adding that Israel could still buy US weapons. "The left uses the $4 billion payment that everybody knows about ... as a signal of unfairness, and we can't allow that to happen," NBC News quoted him as saying.

The aid agreement

A 10-year memorandum of understanding signed under President Barack Obama commits the US to provide Israel with $3.8 billion a year from 2019 through 2028. That includes $3.3 billion in foreign military financing and $500 million for joint missile defense programs. Trump gave no details on how the aid would be ended, and the memorandum formally runs until 2028. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Israel has received about $300 billion in inflation-adjusted US economic and military aid since its founding in 1948, more than any other country.

Netanyahu has previously said he wants to strengthen Israel's military self-reliance and reduce its dependence on Washington.

Reaction on X

Mongolian users shared the news, and some cited observers who said the election-day announcement may have been politically motivated.

Sources: Reuters, NBC News, Fox News, ikon.mn.