Netanyahu’s office doesn’t deny Trump’s announcement of imminent halt to US military aid

In its first response to US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement this week that American military aid to Israel will be completely halted at the end of this year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday did not offer a denial.

On the morning of the US midterm elections on Tuesday, Trump said the United States would cease providing $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of 2026. The comments reportedly caught Israeli security and financial officials off guard, given that the current memorandum of understanding on US military assistance to Israel, which gives the Jewish state $3.8 billion annually, doesn’t expire until the end of September 2028.

While Netanyahu has previously spoken publicly about ending US military assistance to Israel, he has talked about doing so gradually over the next decade — not all at once.

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But in its statement on X on Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that the structure of US-Israel ties would be shifting, and did not dispute Trump’s statement.

“US military aid to Israel has always been a cross-the-aisle agreement. Israel has used it both to defend itself and to confront enemies who threaten America and the West,” the statement said. “Today, Israel has a strong and stable economy. The move by PM Netanyahu and President Trump from aid to partnership shows the strength and sophistication of our relationship, and its ability to adapt and stand strong over time.”

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The post was accompanied by a clip of a Fox News interview with PMO spokesman Doron Spielman, who said, “While this aid has been incredibly important, the prime minister has been working with President Trump to make the correct transition out from aid towards partnership and mutual investment.”

The statement’s reference to bipartisan support appeared to allude to the Democrats’ victory in the midterms. Democrats in particular have increasingly turned against aid to Israel in recent years, though Trump has also questioned it.

U.S. military aid to Israel has always been a cross-the-aisle agreement. Israel has used it both to defend itself and to confront enemies who threaten America and the West.

Today, Israel has a strong and stable economy. The move by PM Netanyahu and President Trump from aid to… pic.twitter.com/ssEaavMc0F

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 6, 2026

Netanyahu’s announcement contrasted with comments on Thursday by President Isaac Herzog, who expressed concern over the revelation, saying it “hit me like a bolt out of the blue,” and pointing out that the current MOU runs through 2028.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also spoke about the issue in an interview on Channel 12 news on Thursday, and said he was unsure if military aid was going to end immediately or at the end of 2028.

Israel has received more than $300 billion, adjusted for inflation, in US economic and military assistance since its establishment in 1948, according to figures from the Council on Foreign Relations, far more than any other country has received since 1946.

The US committed to providing billions in military assistance to Israel and Egypt each year when the two nations signed their 1979 US-brokered peace treaty.

While US aid once made up a significant chunk of Israel’s military spending, the percentage it makes up of those funds has significantly declined in recent years as Israel’s economy has flourished.

In March, the Knesset voted on a budget that allotted the Defense Ministry a record NIS 143 billion ($45 billion), or about 17 percent of the total spending bill. In July, the Finance Ministry agreed to immediately transfer an additional NIS 15 billion ($5 billion) to the Defense Ministry, though defense officials say a NIS 40 billion ($12 billion) deficit remains.

Part of Israel’s push to end aid stems from frustrations during the Gaza war when several allies halted arms supplies, including the Biden administration, which held up the transfer of some munitions over concerns they could be used in ways that would cause undue harm to Palestinian civilians.

Trump’s top pollster said to joke about seeking asylum in Israel ahead of midterms defeat

Israel, and the Iran war it launched with the US in February, were at the center of political discourse leading up to the midterms and Trump’s remark. Before the vote, an aide to Trump joked in a private video call that he would perhaps “get asylum in Israel” if it looked like things were going south for the Republican Party, according to a New York Times report on Thursday on the historic losses suffered by the GOP at the ballot box.

The Democratic Party trounced its rivals in the Republican Party on Tuesday, taking control of the US House and Senate by considerable margins, in a clear show of dissatisfaction with Trump, the Iran war and the higher prices it has caused.

In addition, support for Israel among Democratic voters has plummeted, especially during the war in Gaza, with several anti-Israel candidates winning races on Tuesday. Even moderate lawmakers are increasingly willing to challenge decades of US support for Israel.

During the call six days before the vote, according to the Times, Trump’s top pollster Tony Fabrizio reportedly joked to his colleagues that “maybe we could get asylum in Israel” following the election.

Another aide, strategist James Blair, was said to have sarcastically referred to Israel’s Knesset election, held a day earlier.

“At least Bibi won. He’ll protect us,” he said, according to the Times, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s Likud did emerge as the largest party in last week’s election, but the prime minister lost his governing majority. His rival, Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot, has received the backing of a 67-seat majority in the Knesset to be the next prime minister, though his path to forming a government is unclear.

Trump, who endorsed Netanyahu nine days before the October 27 vote, declared, as results came in, that his support had helped Netanyahu clinch “a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN.”

Emanuel Fabian, Jacob Magid and agencies contributed to this report.

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