The new-old President of the US Donald Trump refuses to fight other peoples’ wars, and so the US presence in the Middle East, including the military aid to Israel, whether through monetary grants or through physical presence, could change.
Under the agreement reached between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama covering the period 2019-2028, Israel receives from the US $3.3 billion annually for procurement and an additional $500 million for collaboration on air defense. That agreement was signed in 2016, and so the future of US aid will be determined by Trump.
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The Swords of Iron war represented a turning point in US aid, both financial and physical. According to a paper published by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, in its “Costs of War” project, in the first twelve months of the war alone, US assistance to Israel totaled $17.9 billion, of which $6.8 billion was military financing and $4.5 billion was missile defense. On the physical side, the US deployed a THAAD battery in Israel, supplementing Israel’s multi-layer air defense array. US Navy ships intercepted many threats launched by various enemies at Israel.
“The American deployment in the region is a deterrent element,” says General (res.) Doron Gavish, former commander of Israel’s air defenses. “The second thing is the operational element, since the US presence expands the range of solutions to the threat, whether in defense against missiles and rockets or in defense against UAVs.”
There is concern that just as Trump is expected to order the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, he will also do so from Syria and Israel. There is also likely to be change in the structure of US aid. Jacob (Yaki) Dayan, a former diplomat in the Israeli embassy in Washington DC and Israeli consul general in Los Angeles, says, “Israel will be required to give more in exchange for aid. The aid package from 2029 will have to be settled next year. Trump will demand that the package includes a quid pro quo on Saudi Arabia and Iran.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on January 23, 2025.
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