Prime Minister’s Office Reaffirms Shift From U.S. Military Aid to Partnership

The Prime Minister’s Office on November 11 reaffirmed Israel’s intention to move gradually away from U.S. military assistance, describing the direction of relations with Washington as a shift “from aid to partnership.” The statement linked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s earlier proposal to remarks U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made in Paris this week. The office said Netanyahu had announced in 1996 that Israel would gradually end $1.2 billion in American economic assistance and had subsequently done so. It said that, thirty years later, he considered Israel economically strong enough to phase out military support as well. The office described the move by Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump as an expression of the relationship’s strength and ability to adapt. Speaking in Paris on November 9, Rubio said Netanyahu wanted Israel to stop receiving Foreign Military Financing and instead purchase American weapons through foreign military sales. He called the proposed change “something the Israelis themselves have offered us.” Rubio said Israel could continue buying U.S. weapons without American financing. Asked about the timing, Rubio said Trump wanted the financing to end as soon as possible and that the timetable was being negotiated through the memorandum of understanding. He also said that the memorandum could cover co-production, pointing to Israel’s own weapons manufacturing. Today’s PMO statement referred back to Netanyahu’s May interview, when he outlined his aim of reducing American financial support to zero.