The U.S. has decided to abandon a longstanding practice of providing military aid to Israel every year, instead searching for a way to reallocate or repurpose the funds. This decision is significant because it challenges the bipartisan support for the aid that has existed in Congress for decades.
that even a year ago would have been considered an unthinkable shift in U.S. foreign policy: ending all American military aid to Netanyahu ’s plan, to wind down the $3.8 billion Israel gets each year in military support, has shocked the ranks of congressional Republicans who for decades have considered that funding sacrosanct and been critical of Democrats’ growing interest in placing conditions on it.
Fetterman defends Trump for sidelining affordability during Iran war: ‘Said something that got clipped’ But the request is increasingly losing its taboo, and even stalwart supporters of Israel are beginning to praise the policy shift as a sign Israel is coming of age and no longer needs the special treatment it gets as an American ally.
“I think it represents a show of resolve by Israel to be the master of their own destinies, and I think it’ll be well-received,” said Sen. , the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“It’ll be well-received by Congress, by the administration, by the American people. ” said the phase-out should at least be entertained and that Israel knows best what’s in its national security interests. The change would not end the sale of weapons to Israel, such as the F-35s and missile defense systems that give it a military edge over regional adversaries. Instead, it would effectively alter who pays for that equipment, shifting the burden from the United States to Israel.
“If that’s how the Israeli leader feels about it — like they’re able to deal with their national security threats with their own resources, then I guess, I would listen to what he has to say,” Thune said of Netanyahu’s proposal. “I think he knows better than anybody about the challenges they face and the importance of the alliance with the U.S. and the resources that have come with that through the years.
” With the call, Netanyahu is effectively getting ahead of a turn in public sentiment against Israel that has left the fate of that aid in doubt.was infusing Israel with an additional $15 billion in military aid to carry out its war with Hamas. But Democrats have grown increasingly unwilling to finance new arms sales due to Netanyahu’s perceived disregard for U.S. calls for military restraint and its casualty-heavy operation in Gaza.
On the Right, Israel is being squeezed by a smaller faction of the Make America Great Again movement that wants to pare back all American foreign aid. But Graham did a U-turn a few weeks later, praising Israel’s desire to be “self-sufficient” and announcing that he would personally ask the Trump administration to “.
For the U.S., Graham described it as an opportunity to “plow” the money back into the U.S. military, and Wicker, too, appears to want to repurpose those dollars.
“To the extent there are federal funds that can be used elsewhere, that would be helpful,” said Wicker, who has previously called for a dramatic ramp-up in defense spending. Netanyahu’s remarks come as the U.S. prepares to renew an Obama-era memorandum of understanding that cemented the current tranche of aid, $500 million of which is paid each year to the Pentagon, not Israel directly, in support of missile defenses such as the Iron Dome.has two more years to negotiate the terms of a new arrangement.
But Netanyahu has begun ratcheting up the timeline for Israel to taper off aid and told CBS recently that he hopes to start “ “Let’s start now and do it over the next decade, over the next 10 years, but I want to start now,” Netanyahu said.
“I don’t want to wait for the next Congress. ”“The United States has a tremendous ally in Israel, whose military helped our Department of War achieve all of the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement, referring to the war inBy and large, Republicans were also reluctant to weigh in on Netanyahu’s proposal, and several downplayed the impact in interviews with theSen.
John Hoeven , another appropriator, said his default position is to continue funding aid for Israel. Richard Blumenthal , a defense hawk and one of the few remaining Democrats still opposing efforts to block weapons sales to Israel, said the U.S. should not “object” if Netanyahu wants to phase out American military aid.
, a longtime supporter of Israel, called Netanyahu’s comments an “encouraging sign,” though he declined to stake out a clear position and questioned whether the Israeli government widely shares Netanyahu’s view. , a centrist who echoed Graham’s prior warning that ending the aid would be a mistake and blamed his party for Netanyahu’s change in posture.
“I mean, you can’t force it on him, but it’s, because it’s become so hostile that I think he realized that inevitably, the Democrat Party is going to vote to try to cut it anyway,” Fetterman said. , a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said a drawdown in aid would reflect a “maturing of the relationship,” given that American allies of comparable size do not receive the same aid as Israel.
“The question is, are we an ally or are we a guarantor? ” Kaine said.
“And we would be more like an ally rather than a guarantor. ”
U.S. Aid To Israel Netanyahu Republican Backing Public Sentiment Against Israel Senate Armed Services Committee U.S.-Israel Alliance
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New round of Lebanon-Israel talks kicks off as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continuesIsrael and Lebanon have started a third round of direct talks in Washington.
Read more »
New round of Lebanon-Israel talks kicks off as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continuesIsrael and Lebanon have started a third round of direct talks in Washington.
Read more »
New round of Lebanon-Israel talks kicks off as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continuesThe Associated Press
Read more »
Sen. Cassidy battles Trump-backed challenger in Louisiana Republican primaryRepublican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is fighting for his political life in Saturday's primary against a challenger who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Read more »