Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a recent interview that he anticipates “tapering off” Israeli reliance on American military aid within the next decade, reports BritPanorama.
Netanyahu has maintained that Israel should not depend on foreign military support but has not provided a specific timeline for achieving complete independence from the United States.
“I want to taper off the military within the next 10 years,” he remarked to the Economist. When asked if this means tapering “down to zero,” he affirmed, “Yes.”
During a recent visit with President Donald Trump, Netanyahu conveyed that Israel “very deeply” values the military assistance received from the U.S. over the years, but insisted that Israel has “come of age” and developed substantial capabilities of its own.
In December, Netanyahu announced a plan to invest 350 billion shekels ($110 billion) into establishing an independent arms industry to diminish reliance on other nations.
A memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Israeli governments signed in 2016 outlines a decade-long military aid package of $38 billion which concludes in September 2028. This includes $33 billion in grants for military equipment and $5 billion for missile defense systems.
Israeli defense exports increased by 13% last year, with significant contracts for advanced Israeli defense technologies, notably its multi-layered aerial defense systems.
U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a strong supporter of Israel and ally of Trump, has publicly stated on X that there is no need to wait ten years to begin reducing military aid to Israel.
“The billions in taxpayer dollars that would be saved by expediting the termination of military aid to Israel will and should be plowed back into the U.S. military,” he declared. Graham plans to present a proposal to Israel and the Trump administration aimed at fast-tracking this process.
Envoy tapped for Trump’s Gaza board meets senior Palestinian official
The former U.N. envoy expected to lead Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace for Gaza engaged with a senior Palestinian Authority official on Friday as Trump advances his strategy for the enclave’s future.
The composition of the board is expected to be announced soon, possibly as early as next week, as part of a transitional government aimed at halting the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The initial phase of Trump’s plan, which involved a ceasefire and the release of hostages, has faced destabilizing challenges, including Israeli airstrikes that have resulted in significant civilian casualties, Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and delays in the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Despite mutual accusations of violating agreements, Trump is looking to transition to the second phase, which includes establishing the Board of Peace and potentially deploying peacekeeping forces.
Nickolay Mladenov, the anticipated representative of the board, met with senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official Hussein al-Sheikh in Ramallah on Friday to discuss the situation in Gaza and transition to the next phase of the plan.
While Mladenov’s meeting did not include PA President Mahmoud Abbas, sources indicated that discussions focused on the mechanisms needed to implement Trump’s proposal.
Israel has firmly opposed any role for Hamas, which previously governed Gaza, and does not support PA rule, which operates under the authority set up by the Oslo Accords three decades ago.
On Thursday, Mladenov met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his advisors, reiterating Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm and Gaza be demilitarised, aligning with Trump’s strategy.
