Huckabee Says U.S. Military Aid to Israel Will Not End Abruptly

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in a November 8 interview that American military assistance to Israel would not end abruptly. He addressed the implementation of a possible cutoff following President Donald Trump's announcement on Tuesday that aid would stop at the end of the year. Huckabee said, “as I know there's no abrupt cutoff.” He said ending the assistance would require congressional action and that he considered such action unlikely before year-end. He also said two years remained under the memorandum of understanding governing the assistance. The ambassador attributed the idea of phasing out military aid to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Huckabee said Netanyahu had begun discussing the idea about eighteen months earlier. He said the eventual decision would be made away from Jerusalem, while describing congressional approval as a necessary part of bringing the assistance to an end. Huckabee also addressed Washington's relationship with Israel's next government. He said the United States had not spoken directly with Gadi Eisenkot, who received the mandate to form a government on Sunday. The ambassador said Washington would work with whichever government Israelis selected.