Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel intends to scale down, over time, the US security assistance package that currently stands at $3.8 billion a year, a move that surprised many Israelis but was coordinated with senior defense officials and delivered with their backing.
These officials say they understand for some time that a new model will be needed as Washington shows stronger isolationist tendencies, while Israel seeks greater independence for its defense industries. They stress the process is being managed and claim this may be the right moment to design an alternative to the existing memorandum of understanding (MOU) that could ultimately bring significant funds into Israel’s defense sector and, later, the broader economy.
Israel is a highly developed and robust nation. It appears that the moment has arrived for Israel to advance to the next phase and achieve military independence from the United States by funding its own security requirements. As it stands, the lion’s share of US Aid to Israel must be spent to buy arms from the US. Although the journey for Israel to attain this goal may be gradual, Israel has the technical and now the financial means to develop its own defense industry and this represents a significant and necessary development.
Source:
Israel reconsiders the future of US military aid, by Lilach Shoval/Israel Hayom, January 12, 2026