Republican Representatives Marlin Stutzman from Indiana and Abe Hamadeh of Arizona have put forth a resolution proposing a gradual end to the $3.8 billion annual U.S. military aid to Israel. Instead, they aim to establish a new model emphasizing trade, joint technology ventures, and strategic collaboration. This initiative has received the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Wednesday, the lawmakers introduced this nonbinding resolution, which calls for both nations to draft a new memorandum of understanding before the current ten-year deal concludes in 2028. The plan suggests a shift from direct military aid to a framework focusing on joint defense efforts, co-development projects, co-production, and shared investments.
This proposal has the endorsement of Netanyahu.
After meeting with Stutzman and Hamadeh in Jerusalem on May 27, Netanyahu expressed his support in a letter dated June 1. He highlighted his enthusiasm for transitioning the U.S.-Israel relationship from a dependency on aid to one of mutual partnership.
“Israel greatly values the financial support the United States has generously provided through military aid over the years,” Netanyahu stated in his letter.
“Israel deeply appreciates the financial component of the military aid the United States has generously provided us over the years,” Netanyahu wrote.
“The time has now arrived for us to move from aid recipient to partner.”
Netanyahu added that he was encouraged by the proposal’s call for a new framework of “joint defense cooperation, codevelopment, coproduction and mutual investment in areas including advanced missile defense, artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, cybersecurity and next generation military platforms.”
Stutzman said the proposal reflects both Israel’s growing economic strength and the evolving nature of the alliance between Jerusalem and Washington.
“The idea is to take the relationship between two great allies, the United States and Israel, to a more mature relationship with a trade agreement, a defense agreement, rather than supplemental aid from the United States to Israel,” Stutzman told the Jerusalem Post.
Recalling his recent meeting with Netanyahu, Stutzman said the prime minister emphasized that Israel’s economy is approaching $1 trillion in gross domestic product and that the country is increasingly capable of standing on its own.
“Israel is a superpower in the Middle East,” Stutzman said. “I can’t think of a greater ally to the United States than Israel.”
Netanyahu has publicly advocated reducing Israel’s reliance on American military aid for more than a year, arguing that Israel’s growing economic and technological strength makes a transition toward a more equal partnership both possible and desirable.
In a CBS News interview last month, Netanyahu said he wanted to “draw down to zero” the financial component of U.S. military assistance.
“It’s time that we wean ourselves from the remaining military support,” he said, adding that he wanted the process to begin immediately and unfold over the next decade.
Promoting the resolution on Wednesday, Hamadeh described the proposal as the next phase of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
“Thanks to President Trump and the Abraham Accords, America and Israel are shifting from aid to a true strategic partnership in economic cooperation and defense innovation,” Hamadeh wrote on X.
“The next chapter is here: Aid to Trade.”
The proposal aligns with broader discussions already underway regarding the next U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee indicated this week that a future agreement could move in that direction, writing on X that a new MOU with Israel “ends aid & will be based on trade.”
The current U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding, signed in 2016, provides Israel with $38 billion in military assistance over a ten-year period and expires in 2028.
While Stutzman’s resolution would not alter that agreement, supporters argue it lays the groundwork for a future relationship built less on direct assistance and more on shared strategic interests, defense cooperation, technological innovation, and trade.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for – News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.