Trump says US will stop paying Israel $4bn a year after year-end
Donald Trump told Fox News’ Fox and Friends, after voting in the US midterm elections began, that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed months ago that Washington would stop paying Israel $4 billion a year by the end of this year. “We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel. Now we’ll help Israel if they need it,” he said. It was not immediately clear which form of aid he meant.
Military assistance to Israel and campaign contributions from Israel’s backers to US candidates have been a flashpoint for Democrats and Republicans this year. Harsh public criticism of Israel by US political leaders in recent years marks a sharp break from decades of staunch bipartisan support, including a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel over the war in Gaza.
In July the House of Representatives voted 314 to 104 to defeat an amendment to a State Department spending bill that would have cut off aid to Israel, even though nearly half of Democrats backed it. The measure was offered by outgoing Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican critic of US policy in the Middle East.
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