By Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel should begin phasing out its reliance on U.S. military aid, arguing that the country has grown strong enough economically, militarily, and technologically to move from foreign assistance to a more reciprocal strategic partnership with Washington.
In a video clip from a recent 60 Minutes interview that circulated widely on social media Sunday, Netanyahu said he had already made the case directly to President Donald Trump and to the Israeli public.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told 60 Minutes that Israel hopes to eventually end its dependence on U.S. military aid, saying, “It’s time we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support.” pic.twitter.com/194NnKiZos
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“I’ve said this to President Trump. I’ve said it to our own people,” he said. “Their jaws dropped, but I said I want to draw down to zero the American financial support, the financial component of the military cooperation that we have — because we receive 3.8 billion dollars a year.”
He added: “I think that it’s time that we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support. I want to start now.”
The remarks build on comments Netanyahu made earlier this year, when he said he hoped to taper off U.S. military aid within 10 years after the current memorandum of understanding expires in 2028, according to The Times of Israel. That agreement, negotiated during the Obama administration and implemented in 2018, provides Israel with $38 billion over a decade, including military financing and missile defense support.
Netanyahu has said he does not plan to seek a full renewal of the existing arrangement. Instead, he has described the goal as shifting “from aid to partnership,” reflecting Israel’s view that its defense industry and broader economy have matured enough to support greater self-reliance.
The proposal comes as Israel’s economy approaches the scale of a major advanced industrial power and its defense sector continues to expand. Netanyahu has cited Israel’s domestic arms production, cyber capabilities, and technological development as evidence that the country has “come of age” and should reduce dependence on foreign assistance. Reuters reported in January that Netanyahu had also announced plans for Israel to invest roughly 350 billion shekels, or about $110 billion, in building an independent arms industry.
The existing aid framework is also deeply tied to the American defense industry. Much of the annual assistance is used to purchase U.S.-made weapons systems, making the program not only a foreign policy instrument but also an economic benefit for American defense contractors.
The proposal has drawn mixed reactions in the United States. Supporters, including some aligned with America First priorities, have welcomed the idea as a reduction in foreign aid spending and a sign that Israel is capable of carrying more of its own defense burden. Critics warn that ending the aid could reduce U.S. influence in the Middle East or weaken access to Israeli intelligence, battlefield experience, and military technology that have benefited American defense capabilities.
Israeli officials have emphasized that the shift would not mean the end of close military or intelligence cooperation. Rather, they have framed it as an evolution in the alliance, with Israel and the United States moving toward joint production, shared research, and deeper technological cooperation rather than direct annual military assistance.
That distinction is central to Netanyahu’s argument. Israel, he has suggested, no longer needs the same kind of financial support it required in earlier decades, but it still sees the United States as its closest strategic partner. The goal, in his telling, is not separation from Washington, but a different balance inside the alliance.
The timing is politically significant. The current aid agreement expires in 2028, giving both governments time to negotiate a new structure. Any meaningful change would require coordination with the White House and Congress, where aid to Israel has long enjoyed strong bipartisan support but has also faced new scrutiny from different parts of the political spectrum.
No detailed implementation plan has been released beyond the broad 10-year framework. For now, Netanyahu’s comments signal both a symbolic and substantive shift: an Israeli leader publicly saying the country should prepare to end one of the defining features of its relationship with Washington while trying to preserve the strategic core of the alliance.
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