Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday rejected reports that Jerusalem is pursuing a 20-year US security aid package, saying their “direction is exactly the opposite” and saying “it is time to make sure Israel is independent,” with an announcement expected “very soon.”
In an interview on Australian journalist Erin Molan’s podcast, Netanyahu addressed the report published a few minutes earlier and told Molan to “follow what I say, not what is put forward in leaks that are not true,” describing his policy as a shift toward “more freedom.”
Netanyahu linked this stance to his first term as prime minister, recalling that in 1996, he told Congress that Israel would phase out economic aid to build a “high-tech, free-market capitalist economy.”
He said he now wants Israel’s arms industry to be “as independent as possible”.
When asked if now was the time to completely cut military aid, he replied: “It is time to make sure Israel is independent.”
He said that American support for Israel is “a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction” of the money Washington spends elsewhere in the Middle East and emphasized that about 80 percent of aid is spent in the United States on American-made systems.
The comments came as Israeli and US officials continued quiet, preliminary contacts on the next security framework ahead of the current MOU’s 2028 expiration.
The report said Israeli and US officials have discussed a 20-year framework with “America First” elements – including funding into joint R&D in defense technology, AI and the “Golden Dome” initiative – to appeal to the Trump administration as talks intensify.
Israeli outlets reported that the government is simultaneously examining alternatives to the current aid architecture – a $3.8 billion per year memorandum of understanding that expires in 2028 – including models that place greater emphasis on bilateral technical cooperation and joint production over traditional grants.
Officials told separately i24NEWS Israel is considering a gradual reduction in US military aid, echoing Netanyahu’s call for a “much more independent” defense industry.
Mark Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel, welcomed the direction in response to the Axios report, urging Israel to “completely distance itself from US military aid – perhaps gradually, but completely – and transition to a purely commercial relationship.”
“For true sovereignty and true partnership, Israel needs to stand on its own feet,” he said.
This discussion has been going on for months.
in March, jewish insider Outlining Likud MK Amit Halevi’s campaign to replace aid with a partnership model focused on cooperative R&D and joint production, he argued that aid “creates a false narrative of dependency” and exposes Israel to political pressure.
In January, the outlet detailed a Knesset subcommittee hearing that examined how changing US politics – and delays in arms deliveries under the then-Biden administration – should shape Israel’s strategic posture.
In May, Netanyahu was reported to have told lawmakers that Israel should begin weaning itself off US military aid, drawing a line from phasing out 1990s economic aid.
Israeli officials indicated that Netanyahu could outline concrete steps toward that independence in the coming weeks.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @joshuaklein,
