Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed a desire to phase out US military aid to Israel entirely over the next decade, citing the country’s growing economic and military capabilities.
In an interview with The Economist’s editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, Netanyahu discussed the shift.
“I want to taper off military aid within the next 10 years,” Netanyahu said.
He elaborated: “We kept, as you say, American military support to the tune of $3.8 billion dollars a year. Much appreciated. So now in my visit with President Trump, I said we very deeply appreciate the military aid that America has given us over years. But here too, we’ve come of age and we have developed incredible capacities. And our economy, which will soon reach—certainly within a decade—it’ll reach about $1 trillion. Not huge but not small. So I want to taper off the military aid within the next 10 years.”
Netanyahu added: “I want to taper it off to zero within 10 years.”
Beddoes noted: “That would be a very dramatic shift.”
Netanyahu responded: “Well, it’s in the works.”
The current US aid package stems from a 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under President Obama, providing $38 billion in security assistance over 10 years from FY2019 to FY2028, including $33 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and $5 billion for missile defense.
This represents $3.8 billion annually, succeeding a previous $30 billion MOU from 2007.
The aid has enabled Israel to acquire advanced capabilities, such as F-35 aircraft, and supported systems like Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow-3.
US Sen. Lindsey Graham welcomed Netanyahu’s proposal, advocating for an accelerated timeline.
“The aid we have provided to Israel has been a great investment keeping the IDF strong, sharing technology, and making their military more capable – to the benefit of the United States. Apparently there is a desire by Israel to change that dynamic because they have a roaring economy,” Graham wrote.
“I will always appreciate allies who are trying to be more self-sufficient and believe that, given what the Prime Minister said, we need not wait ten years. The billions in taxpayer dollars that would be saved by expediting the termination of military aid to Israel will and should be plowed back into the U.S. military, which is the best in the world and in great demand.”
Graham added: “We have no better ally than Israel. Their future is tremendously important to America at many levels. These billions need to be recouped as soon as possible so we can help meet President Trump’s $1.5 trillion national budget goal for our military, an idea I support because of the numerous conflicts we face and the changes in warfare.”
“As Chairman of State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, I will be presenting a proposal to Israel and the Trump Administration to dramatically expedite the timetable.”
