Trump: US ending US$3.8b in annual aid for Israel

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Washington would end its annual US$3.8 billion in aid to Israel, on the day of midterm elections in which support for Israel has been a contentious issue.

"We give Israel US$4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we're stopping," Trump said during a phone interview with Fox News.

Trump said Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "fine" with the decision to end the aid.

Under the deal, Israel receives financial assistance for the purchase of around US$3.8 billion in weapons a year.

"Now we'll help Israel if they need it," Trump said. "Israel is a very thriving country. They don't need it."

The announcement came as Americans voted in crucial midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the last two years of Trump's presidency, and soon after parliamentary elections in Israel that did not produce a clear winner.

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has received more than US$300 billion, adjusted for inflation, in US economic and military assistance, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, far more than any other country in that time period.

Netanyahu has in the past expressed a desire to end Israel's dependence on US aid. In May, he told US broadcaster CBS that he wanted to reduce US support to zero.

Tuesday's announcement was met with backlash from Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, who said it showed that Netanyahu must go.

"The fact that Israel's defence establishment is learning of a shift in our strategic relationship through the media at the same time as the Israeli public shows just how dangerous Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct is," Eisenkot said in a statement. "He can no longer be trusted and must be replaced."

It was not immediately clear when the US aid to Israel would actually end.

- DEEP DIVISIONS -

The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, launched in response to Hamas' Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel has created deep divisions within the United States, with polls showing a growing number of Americans in favor of cutting aid to Israel.

The announcement also comes amid an eight-month war against Iran, with Trump confirming on Tuesday that the American military had carried out new strikes there.

Trump cited criticism from leftist Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for US Senate after harnessing popular discontent and anti-Israel sentiment, as part of the reasoning behind the decision to end the aid package.

"Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don't need it? It's a bad talking point," Trump said on Fox, referring to the aid for Israel.

The debate over support for Israel, which divides both Democrats and Republicans, is raging in El-Sayed's home state of Michigan, where there is a large Muslim community.

If he wins, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim member of the US Senate. He has been a vocal critic of the US alliance with Israel, calling for a halt to aid to the country.

His criticism of Israel was one factor behind Sunday's unexpected endorsement by Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens – El-Sayed's main rival in the party's primary – of his opponent, Republican Mike Rogers, illustrating divisions within the party on the issue.--AFP