Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel should begin reducing its dependence on financial assistance from the United States, arguing that the country’s economy has grown strong enough to sustain itself without American support.
Speaking in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 on Tuesday, June 30, Netanyahu said he wanted the process of ending US aid to begin this year, describing continued assistance as no longer necessary.
“I want to stop American aid. It’s like welfare; I don’t want it,” Netanyahu said.
He added that US assistance now accounts for only a small share of Israel’s gross domestic product and that Israel is capable of funding the amount on its own.
“Our economy is no longer a small economy. We can finance ourselves with this fraction of a per cent of our GDP that we receive from the United States. I want this process to start this year,” he said.
Netanyahu also said he favoured a gradual reduction in US assistance over the next decade as Israel’s economy continued to grow.
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The United States is Israel’s closest ally and largest military supporter. Under a 10-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2016, Washington committed about $38 billion in military assistance to Israel between 2019 and 2028.
The remarks come amid reported differences between Israel and the United States over Iran-related diplomacy, with Israeli officials expressing concern that Washington has not fully reflected Israel’s security interests during recent negotiations.
Netanyahu also reiterated his government’s hardline positions on regional security, saying Israel would continue to oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, maintain military pressure on Iran where necessary, and keep troops in southern Lebanon until the threat posed by Hezbollah had been removed.
His remarks came days after Lebanon and Israel signed a US-sponsored framework agreement aimed at advancing security arrangements and the eventual disarmament of Hezbollah. Under the agreement, any Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory would depend on the Lebanese Armed Forces assuming responsibility for designated areas previously held by Hezbollah.
Huckabee says US roots lie in Jewish heritage
Separately, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the United States owes its foundations to the Jewish people and the biblical values they preserved, making the remarks hours after Netanyahu called for Israel to begin phasing out American financial assistance.
Addressing the 2026 Herzliya Conference at Reichman University, Huckabee said the principles that shaped the United States originated from the commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai and were preserved through generations of the Jewish people.
He argued that America’s founders recognised those roots and claimed the country would not have come into existence in its present form without that heritage.
Huckabee also said the first US president, George Washington, acknowledged in his writings and speeches that America’s origins could be traced to the descendants of Abraham.
The ambassador echoed similar remarks he made in June at Herodium National Park, where he said the United States would not exist without Israel and described Jewish heritage as an integral part of America’s historical identity.
