United States President Donald Trump has announced that Washington will stop paying about $4 billion a year in military aid to Israel by the end of this year, in a major shift in one of America's longest-running defence partnerships.
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said he had agreed the move with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu months ago. "We won't be paying any more to Israel" by the end of this year, he said, adding that the United States would still help Israel if it needed help, and would continue selling it weapons. "Israel's our number one; we give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it," Trump said. "If they did need it, I would say keep it going."
THE DEAL THAT WAS IN PLACE
The aid comes under a 10-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2016, which committed the United States to about $3.8 billion a year in military assistance to Israel through 2028 — $38 billion in total, including $33 billion in military financing and $5 billion for missile defence. The arrangement, which began in 2019, funds Israel's purchases of American weapons.
Trump gave no details of how the funding would be stopped at the end of this year, given that the memorandum does not expire until September 2028. That gap between the announcement and the legal timetable is one of the main questions now facing officials in both countries.
REACTION IN ISRAEL
In Israel, the announcement has caused alarm in defence and finance circles. Israeli media reported that defence and finance officials are now assessing how the country will pay for weapons already on order and replenish military stocks depleted by three years of war. Israel's Finance Ministry first learned of the plan when Trump announced it, according to Channel 12, while public broadcaster KAN estimated that a cut-off from January would leave an immediate gap of about $3.8 billion a year — 12 billion shekels — in the defence budget.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised the decision sharply on Wednesday, calling it one of the most severe political and security failures in Israel's history and questioning Netanyahu's handling of the matter. He argued that losing the annual assistance would weaken Israel's security position at a difficult time.
Trump also reportedly warned Netanyahu to "stop blowing up buildings", according to Israeli media reports carried by Anadolu Agency, while sidelining Israel in Iran peace negotiations — a sign, analysts say, of growing distance between the two leaders despite Trump's insistence that Netanyahu had agreed to the aid cut.
WHY IT MATTERS
For decades, US military aid has been a central pillar of the American-Israeli relationship, guaranteeing Israel a steady supply of advanced American weapons. Ending it early would force Israel to fund a much larger share of its defence spending from its own budget, at a time when its armed forces are still recovering from years of war.
For Washington, the move also signals a change in how Trump wants to handle alliances: support in a crisis, and arms sales, but no open-ended annual payments. Whether Congress, which controls US spending, accepts an early end to an agreement running to 2028 remains to be seen — and that will decide whether Tuesday's announcement becomes policy, or stays a political statement.
Sources: Dawn (4 November 2026); The Express Tribune / Reuters (4 November 2026); Malay Mail / AFP (4 November 2026); Business Standard (4 November 2026); Tribune India / ANI (4 November 2026); Haaretz (4 November 2026).
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ROMAN URDU VERSION:
America ke Sadr Donald Trump ne elan kiya hai ke Washington is saal ke akhir tak Israel ko har saal di jaane wali taqreeban $4 billion ki foji imdad band kar dega. Ye America aur Israel ke purane difai rishtay mein bari tabdeeli hai.
Tuesday ko Fox News se guftagu mein Trump ne kaha ke unhon ne Israeli Wazir-e-Azam Benjamin Netanyahu ke saath ye faisla kai mahine pehle hi kar liya tha. Un ka kehna tha ke is saal ke akhir tak America Israel ko ye raqam nahi dega, lekin zaroorat parne par madad zaroor karega aur hathiyar farokht karta rahega. Trump ne kaha, "Israel hamara number one hai, hum use sab se zyada dete hain, aur use ab is ki zaroorat nahi."
Ye imdad 2016 mein sign honay wale 10 saala muahide ke tehat di ja rahi thi, jis mein 2028 tak har saal taqreeban $3.8 billion — kul $38 billion — ki imdad shamil thi. Trump ne ye nahi bataya ke ye muahida, jo September 2028 tak chalega, is saal ke akhir mein kaise khatam hoga.
Israel mein is elan par tashweesh hai. Media reports ke mutabiq difai aur maaliyati hakam ab ye jaanch rahe hain ke pehle se order kiye gaye hathiyaron ki adayegi kaise hogi aur teen saal ki jang se khaali honay walay zakhayer kaise dobara bhare jayenge. KAN ke andaze ke mutabiq January se ye imdad band honay par difai budget mein har saal taqreeban $3.8 billion ka khala paida hoga. Opposition leader Yair Lapid ne Wednesday ko is faislay ko Israel ki tareekh ki sab se bari siyasi aur security nakami qarar diya aur Netanyahu ke kirdar par sawal uthaye.
Ye faisla ab is baat par munhasir hoga ke American Congress, jo kharch ki manzoori deti hai, 2028 tak chalne wale muahide ko waqt se pehle khatam karne par raazi hoti hai ya nahi.
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