Israel, US Negotiate 5-Year Military Aid Deal Before 2028
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MENAFNAccording to the newspaper, Israel is pushing to conclude the negotiations before the new US Congress takes office in January, amid concerns that political developments could threaten the future of military assistance.
The Democratic Party secured control of Congress from US President Donald Trump’s Republicans in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, raising questions about the direction of future US-Israel relations.
The report said US military assistance to Israel “will not end immediately,” contradicting earlier statements by Trump.
Instead, direct military funding is expected to be cut by nearly half, with the customary 10-year assistance framework shortened to five years once the existing agreement expires in 2028. Direct military aid would then be discontinued entirely, the newspaper reported.
However, Washington is expected to increase its financial contributions to joint air and missile defense projects from the current $500 million annually to an undisclosed amount.
Successive US administrations have maintained extensive military, financial and diplomatic support for Israel, including throughout its genocide in Gaza, which began in October 2023.
Negotiations Underway as Trump Signals Aid Cuts
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that negotiations involve delegations from both countries. The US team includes representatives of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while Israel is represented by officials from its Defense Ministry and embassy in Washington.
The newspaper said Israeli negotiators were caught off guard by Trump’s announcement that US military assistance would end by the close of 2026, initially struggling to understand the implications of his remarks.
An unnamed senior Israeli official told the publication that Trump made the statement primarily for domestic political purposes, seeking to boost Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in Michigan against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel.
The political effort ultimately failed, with El-Sayed defeating Rogers to become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate.
Speaking to Fox News on US Election Day, Trump said: “We were giving them $4 billion. We are, but it gets cut off at the end of the year.”
He also claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had proposed ending American military assistance, arguing that Israel had developed into a successful country capable of operating without US funding.
Proposed Deal Would Halve Direct Military Assistance
The emerging arrangement reportedly envisages a gradual withdrawal of direct military assistance rather than an immediate termination, with the five-year transition beginning after the current agreement expires in 2028.
Under the existing 10-year framework, Israel receives $3.3 billion annually through the US Foreign Military Financing program, bringing the total commitment to $33 billion.
The proposed arrangement is expected to preserve a comparable annual funding level but extend it for only five years, amounting to approximately $16.5 billion before direct military assistance ends, according to the newspaper.
The current agreement remains valid through 2028.
The funding enables Israel to purchase American-manufactured weapons, military equipment, fighter aircraft, helicopters and ammunition from US defense contractors.
Israel had previously been allowed to convert part of its American assistance into Israeli shekels to buy equipment from domestic arms manufacturers. However, this arrangement has been progressively phased out.
Separately, Washington currently allocates another $500 million annually toward joint missile-defense programs covering research, development and production of systems such as Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow.
That funding is expected to increase under the proposed agreement as mounting drone and missile threats drive demand for expanded joint research and development initiatives.
Officials quoted by the newspaper said stronger cooperation in missile defense would serve the interests of both countries.
US Defense Industry Could Oppose Funding Cuts
An unnamed senior Israeli official familiar with the negotiations told Yedioth Ahronoth that some members of Congress oppose reducing military assistance because of its economic importance to the United States.
The official argued that a substantial portion of the funding flows back into the US economy through defense contractors and businesses operating in the states represented by those lawmakers, supporting companies and employment.
According to the report, several senators approached Israeli officials after Netanyahu expressed interest in ending American military assistance, questioning whether Israel fully understood the potential consequences.
“We are moving here from a model of aid to a model of partnership,” the Israeli official said.
“It is important to remember that most of the security assistance remains in America and contributes to the American economy. Cutting it would also hurt American industries and require adjustments,” he added.
On Sunday, Trump acknowledged during a television interview that a “great dislike” among Americans was one of the factors contributing to his party's losses in the congressional elections.
Opinion polls conducted in the United States since the beginning of the Gaza genocide have indicated a significant decline in favorable attitudes toward Israel, alongside increasing public sympathy for Palestinians.
According to Palestinian authorities, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 175,000 wounded in Gaza since October 2023, with women and children accounting for most of the casualties. Approximately 90% of the enclave's infrastructure has also been damaged or destroyed.
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