The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Tuesday that Washington will suspend the delivery of 4,000 million dollars (about 3,575 million euros) in military assistance to Israel before the end of the year. He underlined that this decision is part of an understanding reached with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, from whom the proposal would have come.
"We were giving them 4,000 million (dollars), but we will cut it off at the end of the year, since they do not need it," he stated in an interview granted to the American network Fox News, where he admitted that this volume of military support to Israel has become one of the main reasons for reproach toward Washington since the start of the war in the Middle East.
"It is a misguided argument, because one could ask: why do we give 4,000 million dollars to everyone?", he pointed out. "Israel is our number one priority; we give them more than anyone," he added, before stressing that Israel "no longer needs it", since "it is a very prosperous country".
Along these lines, he reiterated that there is "an agreement" with Netanyahu on this matter and even went so far as to point out that it was the Israeli head of government himself who put the idea on the table. "It was he who raised it. He said: 'I think it would be appropriate for us not to receive aid'," the American leader indicated.
Trump insisted that Netanyahu "understands that this is one of the points of discord" and once again highlighted that Israel has been "a great ally, much more reliable than most", while the Israeli authorities have still not reacted publicly to the words of the president of the United States.
Both countries maintain in force a memorandum of understanding that provides for 3,800 million dollars (close to 3,400 million euros) in annual military aid to Israel, with an expiration date in 2028. Netanyahu himself already indicated in May, in an interview with the CBS network, that he trusted the country would stop depending on this economic support within a period of ten years.