Netanyahu: Israel moving ‘from aid to partnership’ with US
By AKIVA VAN KONINGSVELD
U.S. president Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to give their final remarks at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem before Trump’s departure, May 23, 2017. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
“In 1996, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel would gradually end U.S. financial support of $1.2 billion. He did just that,” the PMO wrote on X. “Thirty years later, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel is strong enough economically to gradually end military support.”
“Today, Israel has a strong and stable economy, and Israel and the United States are making the important move from aid to partnership,” it continued.
The statement said Netanyahu set the direction on CBS‘s “60 Minutes” in May. He said then: “I want to draw down to zero the American financial support.”
The joint move by Netanyahu and Trump “shows the strength of our relationship and its ability to adapt to changing circumstances,” the statement concluded.
Israel is “moving out of adolescence into maturity” and “from dependence to partnership,” Prime Minister’s Office International Spokesman Doron Spielman told JNS on Thursday.
“It’s a very healthy process for Israel and the U.S.,” the spokesman said.
Spielman noted that Netanyahu has been speaking about the issue for 30 years.
He said that as the Jewish state strengthens economically, it “grows into itself in terms of development of its military and military industry, intelligence and armed forces.”
Israel has “an enormous amount of economic strength, military strength” and strong ties with Washington and other nations, according to Spielman.
“It will be negotiated between the prime minister and the president; we’ll see the plans as they emerge,” he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Trump wants the Foreign Military Financing portion of Washington’s aid to Israel to end “as soon as possible.”
Trump believes Israel is now “prosperous and rich enough” to buy U.S. weapons without American financing, Rubio told reporters. He added that a new memorandum of understanding with Jerusalem could also cover co-production of some weaponry.
“We’ll negotiate the timeline,” he said. Asked whether Israel could go without U.S. military financing starting in 2027, Rubio replied, “I think they could if they wanted to.”
Trump said on Nov. 3 that he had agreed with Netanyahu to cut off U.S. military aid to the Jewish state by the end of the year.
“Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel four billion dollars a year. And we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping, and they’re fine with it,” Trump told Fox News.
He said Israel had “become a very successful country” and doesn’t need the aid.
“And we’ll help Israel if they need it. You know they’ve been a great ally,” Trump added.
Under the 10-year memorandum of understanding signed during the Obama administration, Israel has received $3.8 billion a year in military aid since the 2019 fiscal year. It is due to keep receiving it through the 2028 fiscal year.
