President Donald Trump has said the United States will stop about $4 billion a year in aid to Israel by the end of the year, saying he had agreed it with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu months ago.

Speaking by telephone on Fox News' Fox & Friends on Tuesday 3 November, US midterm election day, Trump said: "Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we're stopping. We've already agreed that by the end of this year we won't be paying Israel."

Trump called Israel "a very thriving country" that no longer needed the assistance, and said the United States would still sell it weapons. He gave no details of how the funding would be halted.

The deal behind the announcement

The money comes under a 2016 memorandum of understanding that sets US military aid at $3.8 billion a year — $3.3 billion in financing and $500 million for missile defence — across fiscal years 2019–2028, totalling $38 billion. It does not expire until September 2028, and Congress has approved funding through September 2027, so how a year-end cutoff would work is unclear.

Israeli media reported hours later that neither Israel's military nor its Treasury was aware of the decision. Netanyahu had already said he expected US aid to wind down over time.

A shifting political mood

US aid to Israel was among the most contentious issues before the midterms. In July, nearly half of House Democrats voted to cut off aid through a spending-bill amendment, and a Chicago Council survey found 56 per cent of Americans favoured decreasing or stopping military aid. No implementing measure or confirmation from Netanyahu's office had been published yet.