Former NSC US affairs chief: Trump plan to end US aid early risks signaling retreat from Israel

US President Donald Trump claimed in an interview with Fox News' Fox & Friends that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached an agreement to cut off the aid by December 2026. 

Former head of the US desk at the National Security Council (NSC), Dr. Avner Golov, warned on Tuesday that a decision to end US aid to Israel by the end of 2026 risks signaling a retreat from America’s long-standing commitment to supporting Israel’s national security.

US President Donald Trump claimed in an interview with Fox News' Fox and Friends that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached an agreement to cut off the aid by December 2026. 

Golov described Trump’s announcement as a “serious and dramatic development in Israel-US relations,” warning that the move may compromise Israel’s priority status in receiving American arms in an already precarious security situation.

“The greatest danger is that this move might be interpreted as a retreat from the American commitment to Israel’s security,” Golov added, noting that the cutoff of aid could also cause economic damage.

US investment in Israel is mutually beneficial, former head says

Golov highlighted the strategic, mutually beneficial nature of US investment in Israel, stating that the aid is not an act of charity.

Instead of rolling back cooperation, he urged both nations to deepen technological alliances in a way that could strengthen security for Washington and Jerusalem.

Up until Trump’s Tuesday announcement, Netanyahu had previously alluded to a plan to gradually wean off the aid until the current US-Israeli military assistance agreement ends in 2028.