Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed to U.S. President Donald Trump ending or returning some U.S. military aid scheduled for Israel in 2027 and 2028 under the current memorandum of understanding, arguing it would improve Israel's reputation in the United States, according to sources cited in a Jewish Insider report shared on X during the reporting window from 2:46 PM to 4:16 PM UTC on January 13, 2026. Former Israeli Minister Yechiel Dermer defended the idea to U.S. lawmakers and officials before leaving government late last year, a claim Netanyahu repeated to Trump, the sources told Jewish Insider. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter has since become the point person on the matter, one source close to the prime minister stated. Trump could not understand Netanyahu's proposal to end American military aid to Israel and disagrees it would improve U.S. public opinion on the Jewish state, according to one source familiar with the president's perspective who spoke to Jewish Insider. Trump remains skeptical of the plan's benefits to either country but has not dismissed it outright.
