Published on November 3, 2026
US President Donald Trump said he had reached an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would no longer provide funding to Israel after the end of this year.
“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I made a deal that we would give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we would stop,” Trump told Fox and Friends on Fox News after voting in the midterm elections began.
“We have already agreed that by the end of this year we will not pay Israel. Now we will help Israel if it needs it.”
It was not immediately clear what form of aid Trump was talking about.
Trump cited Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of U.S. support for Israel, in his argument.
“Why should we suffer attacks from crazy people like El-Sayed when they don’t need it? It’s a bad topic to talk about,” Trump said, adding that the Israeli prime minister had actively called for the aid to be stopped.
“Can I be honest with you, (Netanyahu) talked about it, he said, ‘I think it would be appropriate if we didn’t get aid,’ because he understands that’s one of their points of contention.”
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Al Jazeera. This decision was not confirmed by either the Israeli foreign minister or Netanyahu’s office.
Money appropriated by Congress
“You’re talking about a surprise in November,” Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said, reporting from the White House, attributing the move to a desire to undercut criticism of U.S. policy toward Israel, both from progressive Democrats like El-Sayed and critics within her own Make America Great Again movement.
“But there is a very important distinction to note,” she added. “The money is appropriated by Congress. Trump cannot end this aid unilaterally. What is unclear is whether this is a last-minute attempt to get votes or whether it is a tangible change or not.”
The legal and political complexity of cutting off aid to Israel could mean the process could take longer than Trump anticipated, according to Thomas Warrick, director of the Future of DHS project at the Atlantic Council.
“President Trump is unlikely to cut US military aid to Israel by the end of 2026,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Even though he and Netanyahu agree that military aid should be phased out, there are several ongoing weapons programs, including missile defense and counter-drone, that cannot easily be transferred to a foreign military sales program,” he added. “So I expect military assistance to be phased out over the course of 2027. But not by the end of 2026.”
A provision of a bill passed by the House of Representatives in July ties the U.S. and Israeli militaries much more closely, deepening cooperation on weapons research, production and technology.
The U.S.-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative emerged in the form of Section 219 of the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual U.S. defense policy bill.
The plan passed in a roughly party-line vote carried by the Republican majority, despite warnings from some voices on both sides of the party that it could compromise U.S. sovereignty.
“This will not change the results”
Military aid to Israel and contributions to U.S. political campaigns from Israel supporters to candidates have been a flashpoint for both Democrats and Republicans this year.
American public support for Israel has declined since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in 2023, particularly among Democrats.
A June Quinnipiac University poll found that 48% of voters and 66% of Democrats believe the United States is too supportive of Israel, up from 16% and 20% respectively when the question was asked in 2017.
Harsh public criticism of Israel from U.S. political leaders in recent years marks a sea change from decades of strong bipartisan support.
The US House of Representatives in July rejected an amendment to cut off aid to Israel, despite support from nearly half of Democrats, reflecting a growing rift between US progressives and Israel over its war on Gaza.
The House voted 314-104 to reject the measure, proposed as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an outspoken Republican critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
“It’s amazing how being on the verge of Republicans being voted out in the midterms changes hearts and minds,” another Trump opponent, former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, wrote on X.
“Trump getting permission from Netanyahu to end annual aid to Israel will not change the results of today’s election.”
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