US will stop $4b in aid to Israel: Trump

Says Tel Aviv no longer needs financial support

WASHINGTON:

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would stop $4 billion in annual funding to Israel after this year, but will still sell weapons to its close Middle East ally.

In a surprise announcement as US voters headed to the polls for midterm elections that will decide who controls Congress, Trump cast the move as partly meant to take away a "bad talking point" he said left-wing Democrats had used against his fellow Republicans over support for military assistance to Israel.

Trump did not provide details or explain how the funding would be stopped at the end of the year, given that the Memorandum of Understanding that provides $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel each year does not expire until September 2028.

But some analysts suggested Trump's declaration was an Election Day ploy.

Conversations have been under way on how Washington's assistance to Israel would evolve beyond that date, and Netanyahu had already said he expects US aid to wind down over time.

Trump, however, appeared to signal that his mind was made up about what would mark a significant shift in US-Israel relations, even as the two countries remain in conflict with Iran more than eight months after jointly attacking the Islamic Republic.

Trump told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program that Israel no longer needed the funding and that some Democrats and left-wing politicians were using the US financial support to Israel to criticize Republicans. Opinion polls show that the US public's overall support for Israel has declined mostly due to the Gaza war.

"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," Trump said. "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 unclear why Trump chose to announce on Tuesday a deal he said he made months ago.

Israel's future leadership is uncertain after an October 27 election in which Netanyahu - who has allied himself tightly to US Republicans - lost his governing majority but denied his opponents a clear path to unseat him. The election results paved the way for what are expected to be protracted negotiations over a new government.