Trump says US will stop paying aid to Israel after end of year | Donald Trump News

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

US President Donald Trump said he had reached an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would no longer provide funding to Israel after the end of this year.

“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I made a deal that we would give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we would stop,” Trump told Fox and Friends after voting in the midterm elections began.

“We have already agreed that by the end of this year we will not pay Israel. Now we will help Israel if it needs it.”

It was not immediately clear what form of aid Trump was talking about. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Al Jazeera.

Military aid to Israel and contributions to U.S. political campaigns from Israel supporters to candidates have been a flashpoint for both Democrats and Republicans this year.

Harsh public criticism of Israel from U.S. political leaders in recent years marks a sea change from decades of strong bipartisan support.

The US House of Representatives in July rejected an amendment to withhold aid to Israel, despite support from nearly half of Democrats, reflecting a growing rift between US progressives and Israel over its genocidal war in Gaza.

The House voted 314-104 to reject the measure, proposed as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an outspoken Republican critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East.