‘Bolt from the blue’: Israeli president shocked as Trump moves to end annual US aid

Israeli president Isaac Herzog has said US President Donald Trump's announcement that Washington would end its annual military aid to Israel came as a surprise, describing it as “like a bolt from the blue”, amid growing political debate in the United States over military assistance to its Middle East ally.Herzog raised the issue during a meeting with the Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, a key rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He expressed concern over the decision, pointing out that the existing US-Israel memorandum of understanding (MoU) on military assistance was due to remain in force until 2028.“The issue of the American aid worries me greatly, and it also fell on me like a bolt from the blue. We have an (memorandum of understanding) with the US that is supposed to last until 2028 and this is one of the major goals, and therefore a government must be formed and not go to repeated elections,” Herzog said.Trump announced on Tuesday, as Americans voted in the midterm elections, that he had reached an agreement with Netanyahu to end the $4 billion in annual US funding to Israel after this year. However, he said Washington would continue selling weapons to its close Middle East ally.The announcement marked a significant shift in US policy, particularly as the existing agreement provides Israel with $3.8 billion in annual military assistance until September 2028. Trump did not explain how the funding would be halted before the agreement expires.The US president appeared to acknowledge that military aid to Israel had become a political liability for Republicans, saying the move was partly intended to remove a "bad talking point" that left-wing Democrats had used against his party over its support for Israel.The announcement also drew attention to growing divisions within the Republican Party over the relationship with Israel. Vice President JD Vance had said on X that the US-Israel relationship contributed to Republican losses in the midterm elections.US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he was seeking clarification on how the proposed change would be implemented. In an interview with Israel's Channel 12 News, he defended continued military assistance and disputed the suggestion that support for Israel had become politically damaging among Republicans.“Americans need to know the value of the relationship,” he said. “It’s not about what Americans are putting into it. It’s about what they are getting out of it. Maybe we haven’t done a good job helping the American public to recognize and be grateful for the partnership with Israel, which has benefited their lives every day.”Disagreeing with Vance's assessment, Huckabee added, “I don’t think support for Israel is toxic in the conservative wing and the Republican Party.”US military assistance to Israel has faced growing opposition across both Democratic and Republican circles, weakening what had long been a bipartisan consensus in Washington. Analysts suggested that Trump's announcement on Election Day was partly aimed at addressing criticism of US support for Israel among voters.Discussions had already been underway on the future of American assistance beyond 2028, with Netanyahu previously indicating that he expected US aid to gradually wind down. Trump, however, appeared to signal that he had decided to accelerate the process.The announcement comes as the United States and Israel remain engaged in a conflict with Iran, more than eight months after jointly launching attacks against the Islamic Republic.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.