President Donald Trump announced that the US will halt the roughly $4 billion in annual military assistance that the US provides to Israel. 

“We were giving them $4 billion – we are – but it gets cut off at the end of the year,” Trump told the hosts of Fox & Friends on Tuesday morning. “They don’t need it. Israel’s our number one. We give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not commented on Trump’s announcement; however, the President said the move was coordinated with Tel Aviv. Trump said, “Look, we give them $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it. And I was approached by Bibi Netanyahu, and we’ve been talking about it for a couple of years because it’s a lot of money.”

Over several decades, the US has agreed to provide Israel with billions in annual military assistance. In 2016, the US and Israel signed a ten-year memorandum of understanding that ensured that Washington would provide Tel Aviv with $3.3 billion in military assistance every year. Additionally, Congress annually approves an additional $500 million in aid to Israel for its missile defense program. 

The current MOU between Israel and the US was scheduled to run from 2019 to 2028. However, Netanyahu has said that Tel Aviv did not need to sign a new MOU with Washington. Trump did not specify if the termination of aid only applies to the  $3.3 billion under the MOU or also includes aid appropriated by Congress. 

Israel has shifted its focus to integrating its military-industrial base with America’s. The House version of the annual Pentagon funding bill includes Section 219 which would “accelerate the US-Israel defense technology partnership, including technology sharing, coproduction of weapons systems, and bilateral research.” 

Trump announced this as Americans were heading out to the polls to vote in the midterm elections. A major criticism of Trump and the Republicans is that they give too much support to Israel. The move could be seen as an effort by Trump to sway voters on the day of the election.