The prospect of American military aid to Israel ending within months has rattled Israelis, raising fears of security vulnerability while the country continues to fight enemies on multiple fronts. President Donald Trump declared this week that the United States would stop billions of dollars in annual assistance by the end of 2026, speaking Tuesday on the 'Fox & Friends' program as millions of Americans voted in midterm elections that ended with Democrats regaining control of both the House and Senate.
The timing was politically delicate on both sides. The announcement came a week after Israeli elections in which neither Netanyahu nor the opposition secured a majority, leaving both blocs competing for public support as they attempt to form a governing coalition. In the United States, Democrats had spent the campaign season hammering Republicans over aid to Israel.
Netanyahu's office signaled the change may have been coordinated with Jerusalem. In a post on X on Friday morning, it stated: '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.'
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, for decades one of Israel's staunchest defenders in Washington, told Israel's Channel 12 that the plan to taper military assistance had been jointly agreed upon by Netanyahu and Trump. He said the two countries 'are wanting to move to a different relationship where it does not look like a package of aid, but rather a relationship of trade,' adding that such a transition could blunt growing American criticism of the expenditure. Huckabee conceded, however, that he did not know whether the funding would end as soon as the close of 2026, saying both he and the Israeli government were seeking clarification.
The annual $3.8 billion package, negotiated under the Obama administration, is mostly spent in the United States on weapons and components made in American factories, and Huckabee noted it has created American jobs. A memorandum of understanding locks in that level of aid through fiscal 2028, leaving it unclear how easily the White House could stop the funding early or how committed Trump is to doing so.
Israeli figures across the spectrum voiced alarm. Moshe Tur-Paz, a Yesh Atid lawmaker and retired lieutenant colonel who recently sat on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, called cutting the aid 'a major mistake,' saying the money supports collaborations worth 12 billion shekels annually. 'If the military's requirements remain unmet, the shortfall would have to come either from the civilian sector, which is highly problematic, or from the defense budget itself, which is equally concerning,' he said. Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Giora Eiland, a former head of the National Security Council, called the announcement 'an unexpected blow' that would cause 'a great deal of damage,' harming joint initiatives such as advancing laser technology and forcing Israel to pay billions of shekels for already-signed defense contracts.
President Isaac Herzog said Thursday that Trump's statement had hit 'me like a bolt from the blue,' adding, 'I am very worried about it.' He spoke during coalition consultations with Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar Party, the largest opposition party, which has made repairing ties with US Democrats a priority. Dr. Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis of the Institute for National Security Studies called the statement 'a five-alarm fire' politically, reflecting eroding support for Israel among parts of the American electorate, 'even on the Republican side.' He noted the fiscal 2027 budget is already in committee, but warned that if funding truly stops, Israel would have to rethink what kind of military it is building, since planning happens years or decades in advance.
Israelis had been braced for a gradual recalibration, not a precipitous one. Speaking to The Economist in January, Netanyahu advocated tapering American military aid to zero within the coming decade, arguing Israel had 'come of age' and was building its own defense industry. Israel is now the world's seventh-largest arms exporter, yet its reliance on American supplies grew significantly after Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks and the ensuing wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and with Iran.
Critics in Washington dismissed Trump's announcement as a sleight of hand. Matt Duss of the Center for International Policy tweeted, 'They're not really cutting aid, just reprogramming it as 'joint projects' and hiding it in the defense budget.' A section of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act would require the Secretary of Defense to designate an executive agent to synchronize US-Israel defense technology cooperation, an approach championed by conservative pro-Israel groups. Victoria Coates of the Heritage Foundation said her organization has long advocated phasing security assistance from direct financing to military sales, and a 2025 Heritage position paper proposed transitioning from financing to direct sales between 2029 and 2047. Such a shift could also reduce, though not eliminate, Congress's ability to use aid to influence Israeli policy, a prospect likely welcomed by Israeli officials given the rising number of Democrats favoring cuts.
