Israeli media comments on Trump’s statement on halting US Aid

Hebrew-language media outlets, including The Times of Israel, commented on statements from US President Donald Trump regarding the US terminating aid to Israel by the end of the year.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said that his administration would not allow its achievements to be undermined by what he described as “the exploitation of aid to Israel by political candidates”—citing, for example, Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate in the state of Michigan.

The US President explained that El-Sayed has repeatedly questioned why the US provides four billion dollars annually to Israel, suggesting that halting this aid would put an end to the matter.

Trump further noted that he had reached an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease American aid to Israel by the end of the year, asserting that “Israel no longer needs it.”

He continued: “They are fine with it because they have become a very successful country; they don’t need it. And we will no longer be paying Israel.”

However, The Times of Israel described Trump’s statement as “false,” pointing to a 10-year memorandum of understanding on US military aid to Israel, which provides Tel Aviv with $3.8 billion annually, that does not expire until September 2028.

The Israeli newspaper noted that Trump’s move highlights the declining popularity of aid to Israel across both major US political parties.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation cited security officials as saying: “We were taken by surprise by Trump’s announcement to halt military support.”

According to Fox News, the current security assistance agreement between the US and Israel provides for approximately $3.8 billion annually through 2028.

Netanyahu has previously said that he wishes to gradually phase out Israel’s reliance on US military aid, although the timing and terms of any such change to the agreement have not been specified in detail.