President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States will stop providing about $4 billion a year in aid to Israel at the end of 2026, two years before the agreement that governs that aid is set to expire. He said Israel will still be able to buy American weapons.

Trump made the announcement in a telephone interview with Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on the morning of the U.S. midterm elections. Fox News published its report at 3:46 p.m. Israel time (7:46 a.m. CST). In Israel, defense and finance officials said they learned of the decision from the media, and opposition leaders blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

What Trump said

“Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that — we give Israel $4 billion a year — and we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” Trump said. “They don’t need it, and we won’t be paying any more.”

He added, “Now we’ll help Israel if they need it.”

Trump said Netanyahu raised the idea. “He brought it up. He said, ‘I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid,’” Trump said.

Trump also tied the decision to U.S. politics. Referring to Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, he said: “Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it? It’s a bad talking point.” El-Sayed won the Michigan Senate seat hours later.

When the hosts pressed him on whether he meant military equipment or cash, Trump said: “You can consider it barter. You can consider military aid or cash. It’s what we give them — $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it.” He said of weapons purchases, “They can buy whatever they want.”

What the 2016 agreement says

Most U.S. military aid to Israel is governed by a 10-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 under President Barack Obama. It provides $38 billion over fiscal years 2019 through 2028: $3.3 billion a year in military financing and $500 million a year for missile defense, a total of $3.8 billion annually. It runs until September 2028. Trump’s $4 billion figure is higher than the memorandum’s total, and he did not say what it covers.

Trump did not say how the aid would be halted at the end of this year, or whether the memorandum would be ended early or would simply not be renewed, according to Reuters and ABC News. Congress authorized the funding in a 2020 law, but the House and Senate must pass appropriations bills each year to release it, Fox News reported.

Netanyahu has called for ending the aid before. He told The Economist in January he wanted to phase it out over a decade and told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” in May, “I want to taper off American support for Israel to zero,” The Jerusalem Post reported. In an October interview with an Israeli television channel, he said Israelis should “get used to the fact” that aid on past terms “won’t happen because America has changed,” according to Fox News.

How Israeli officials responded

Officials at Israel’s Finance Ministry, Defense Ministry and military had no advance notice of the announcement, Israeli news site Ynet reported, according to Anadolu Agency. Public broadcaster KAN quoted a senior defense official as saying the announcement was unexpected despite ongoing dialogue with U.S. counterparts.

A Finance Ministry official told the Walla news site, as reported by The Times of Israel, that “no formal document was submitted from the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the end of aid.” The official said the ministry “was aware of the intention to end it, but was surprised by the intention to do so immediately.”

Not all officials objected. A senior Finance Ministry official, speaking before Trump’s announcement, called the expected end of aid “an excellent thing” and said, “From an economic standpoint, we can handle it,” according to the Israeli business outlet Calcalist.

Trump says Netanyahu proposed ending the aid, and Netanyahu has said publicly for months that he wants it phased out. But his office did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters or ABC News, and AP reported there was no comment from Netanyahu or his office as of Tuesday evening Israel time. The only person who can confirm Trump’s account of how the decision was made has not addressed it.

Opposition leaders blame Netanyahu

Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff who leads the Yashar party, wrote on X that “the fact that the defense establishment, along with the citizens of Israel, learned of a shift in the strategic relationship through the media, demonstrates just how much Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct poses a real danger.” He added, “He can no longer be trusted, and he must be replaced,” according to The Jerusalem Post, which first published the post at 4:35 p.m. Israel time (8:35 a.m. CST).

Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party and a former deputy chief of staff, wrote on X that “the cessation of American aid deals a severe blow to Israel’s security and the quality of life within the country.” He said, “A responsible Prime Minister would have fought to increase American aid, not dismantle it.”

Avigdor Liberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu, said the “price of Trump’s endorsement” of Netanyahu is “$3.8 billion per year,” The Jerusalem Post reported.

What comes next

The U.S. aid had been expected to be an important source of funding for Israel’s 2027 and 2028 defense budgets, TRT World reported, citing Israel’s Channel 12. The Israeli financial newspaper Globes reported it was unclear whether all $3.8 billion or only part would stop. The current memorandum is set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2028, on Sept. 30, 2028, and any money for Israel in the 2027 budget year must still pass through annual appropriations bills in Congress.