Washington cuts Israel military funding term to five years, boosts missile defense

Israel’s Ynet reported that a draft security memorandum would reduce total direct U.S. military funding for Israel from $33 billion over 10 years to $16.5 billion over five years, while expected funding for joint missile defense systems would increase.

Israel’s Ynet reported that the United States and Israel are working on a new security memorandum of understanding to replace the current 10-year agreement, which expires in 2028. Under the draft, total direct U.S. military funding would fall from $33 billion over 10 years to $16.5 billion over five years.

According to the report, annual funding would remain at around $3.3 billion, but the draft stipulates that direct funding would end completely in 2033. The program, known as Foreign Military Financing, covers Israel’s purchases of U.S. weapons.

بطارية من منظومة القبة الحديدية الإسرائيلية (أرشيف)

Missile defense excluded from cuts

By contrast, funding for joint missile defense programs, currently $500 million annually and covering the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow systems, is expected to increase, although no new figure has been set. Total U.S. security assistance to Israel currently stands at around $3.8 billion annually.

The outlet quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that the two countries were moving “from an aid model to a partnership model,” adding that most of the money remains in the United States because it is spent on American-made weapons. Both sides hope to finalize the memorandum before the end of the year and submit it to lawmakers before the new Congress takes office in January.

Public pressure and shifts in Washington

The report came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced on midterm election day that his country would halt $4 billion in aid planned for Israel, and after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel was wealthy enough to purchase U.S. weapons without American funding, explaining that the proposal had come from the Israeli side.

Abir Kwas, the first Palestinian American elected to the New York State Senate, said the partial retreat from military support for Israel was the result of nearly three years of public pressure. She stressed that Americans want their tax money spent in their own communities.

Cover image: ConflictTR. Body image: Wikimedia Commons (Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0, archive). Sources: Ynet, Yedioth Ahronoth.

Washington cuts Israel military funding term to five years, boosts missile defense