(Adnkronos) – Both the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the IDF leadership were reportedly caught off guard after Donald Trump’s latest remarks and his reference to Benjamin Netanyahu a week after the Israeli vote for the renewal of the Knesset and on the day of the US Midterm elections. “No formal document has been submitted by the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the end of aid – a official said in statements reported by the Walla website and re-launched by the Times of Israel – The ministry was aware of the intention to proceed with a stop, but there was surprise at the willingness to proceed immediately.”
In Israel, the Israeli news site Ynet writes, it is believed Trump was referring to the security memorandum of understanding expiring at the end of 2028, and even the IDF knew nothing until the tycoon’s words on Fox News. And the portal quotes high-level Israeli officials who raise the alarm: “Giving up two years of aid means losing eight billion dollars. Where will we get them from? Obviously from citizens’ taxes.”
Among the first voices to rise in Israel, and against Netanyahu, was that of Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats. “The halt to US aid represents a severe blow to the country’s security and quality of life – he wrote on X – because the funding of security needs at such a delicate time will fall solely on Israelis.”
In January, Netanyahu stated he hoped to “reduce” military aid from the US over the next ten years. Today, a spokesperson for him, NBC News reports, said he knew nothing of the tycoon’s statements and would verify the details. In June, Israel’s Ministry of Defense confirmed the start of formal talks with the US Administration on a new security cooperation framework to replace the memorandum of understanding expiring in 2028.
In the two years following the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel, the US sent military aid to Israel totaling $21.7 billion, according to data from William D. Hartung of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. According to a Congressional report published last May, since 1948, the figure would be $174 billion in terms of bilateral assistance and missile defense funding.
