JEWISH INSIDER
Trump, Netanyahu at odds over Israeli plans to end reliance on U.S. military aid
Emily Jacobs, Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Lahav Harkov
January 13, 2026

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed winding down U.S. military aid late last year, President Donald Trump was bewildered and did not immediately support the move, two sources familiar with the matter told Jewish Insider.  Since then, Netanyahu has announced his intentions to move ahead with the plan anyway. Netanyahu pitched the president on his proposal while visiting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., in late December, the Israeli prime minister told The Economist in an interview released on Friday. The idea was spearheaded by Ron Dermer, Israel’s former minister of strategic affairs and a top Netanyahu advisor, according to two sources familiar with the matter.  Dermer has defended the idea to U.S. lawmakers and other officials, arguing that such a move would improve the Jewish state’s embattled reputation in the United States, a claim that Netanyahu repeated to Trump. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Netanyahu says he aims to end US military aid to Israel within a decade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he seeks to end US military aid to Israel within a decade, earning praise from a key ally of US President Donald Trump, whose voter base has splintered over the issue. “I want to taper off the military aid within the next 10 years,” Netanyahu said in an interview with The Economist that was conducted Thursday and published Friday. Asked if he meant “to taper it off to zero,” Netanyahu said yes. Under a military aid package negotiated in 2016, Israel receives some $3.8 billion annually from the US, mostly in the form of subsidies to buy American-made arms. The aid package, which took effect in 2018, is set to expire in 2028.