Trump says the US will stop its $4bn a year in aid to Israel at the end of the year, but the money is still in law. JNS, citing AIPAC, reported that the 2026 defense budget Trump signed earlier this year includes more than $4bn for Israel. Of that, $3.8bn is tied to the US-Israel memorandum of understanding: $3.3bn in security assistance and $500m for missile defense.

Trump says he struck the deal with Netanyahu months ago, Reuters reported, and he told Fox and Friends the two had agreed to it. Euronews reported that he tied the decision to criticism from left-wing politicians. ABC News Australia reported that he added that the US would still help Israel if it needs it, and that Israel "don't need" the aid but could still buy American weapons.

Israel's budget planning assumes otherwise. Channel 12 News reporters said the Finance Ministry was not aware of any intention to cancel the aid before Trump's statement, and that the $3.8bn a year was planned as a significant source of the defense budget for 2027 and 2028. Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting in May that Israel receives close to $4bn for arms and will have to wean itself off US security aid, Jewish Insider reported. Until payments actually stop, the cut is a statement of intent.

The two leaders are also at odds over Iran, which gives the aid remark more weight. Axios reported that Netanyahu is pressing Trump to resume strikes on Iran right after the November 3 midterms, while Trump wants to give diplomacy more time. An Israeli source called their Saturday call "tough" and a US source called it "direct". Israel's UN envoy Danon said on Monday that Israel will support the US decision on Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran by the end of November, a looser horizon than the one Netanyahu is asking for.

© Raydn · raydn.us