US President Trump [R] is facing increasing pressure at home over US support for Israel [Getty]
As US President Donald Trump‘s support base battles over whether aid to Israel fits into his “America First” platform, Tel Aviv appears to have made moves to alleviate the pressure on its ally.
On Thursday, Israeli news outlet i24 cited unnamed Israeli policy officials as saying that Tel Aviv is considering reducing its reliance on US military aid, which currently stands at $3.8 billion per year.
“This is very dramatic and is worrying everyone here,” one official told the Israeli outlet, referring to rising anger within the Republican Party over Washington’s prioritising of Israeli interests.
Another source close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We passed on civilian aid in 1996 and might pass on military aid in 2026. Israel and America are partners. An alliance like no other fighting on the front lines for civilisation.”
‘America First tweaks’
Elsewhere, Axios reported on Thursday that Israel was seeking a new 20-year security agreement with the US with “America First tweaks”. The report comes as the current 10-year framework worth $38 billion is set to expire next year.
Citing US and Israeli officials, the report said that one amendment to the security arrangement would be joint US-Israeli research and development, rather than direct military aid.
“This is out-of-the-box thinking. We want to change the way we handled past agreements and put more emphasis on U.S.-Israel cooperation. The Americans like this idea,” one Israeli official told Axios.
The report also noted that passing a deal similar to the existing security arrangement has been “complicated because of growing frustrations with Israel, including within Trump’s MAGA base”.
When asked about the report by Australian television presenter Erin Molan on Thursday morning, Netanyahu dismissed the claims; however appeared to echo the emphasis on “cooperation” mentioned by the Axios sources.
“I don’t know what they’re talking about,” Netanyahu said, adding that he had previously reduced Israeli dependence on US financial aid during his time as prime minister in 1996.
“Now I want to make our arms industry independent – as independent as possible, so my direction is the exact opposite,” he said.
When asked whether he thought it was “time to cut military aid from the US”, the prime minister reiterated that Israel is seeking independence. He also claimed that US military aid to Israel is “not a fraction” of what Washington spent in its wars in Afghanistan and other places.
Unrealistic
While Netanyahu appeared keen to downplay the significance of US military aid, Israel’s reliance on US assistance during the course of its war on Gaza suggests otherwise.
According to a report released in October by the Quincy Institute and the Costs of War Project at Brown University, Washington has supplied $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel since October 2023.
During a recent trip to Israel, Trump also gave some insight into the arms dealings between Washington and Tel Aviv.
“I mean, Bibi would call me so many times – ‘Can you get me this weapon, that weapon, that weapon?’ Some of them, I never heard of,” the president said during a speech to the Knesset in October.