Israel seeking new 10-year security deal with the US, senior defense official says

Israel is preparing for talks with the Trump administration on a new 10-year security deal, seeking to extend US military support even as Israeli leaders signal they are planning for a future with reduced American cash grants, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

Gil Pinchas, speaking to the FT before stepping down as chief financial adviser to the military and Defense Ministry earlier this month, said Israel would seek to prioritize joint military and defense projects over cash handouts in talks that he expected to take place in the coming weeks.

“The partnership is more important than just the net financial issue in this context… there are a lot of things that are equal to money,” Pinchas said. “The view of this needs to be wider.”

He said pure financial support — or “free money” — worth $3.3 billion a year, which Israel can use to purchase US weapons, was “one component of the MOU (that) could decrease gradually.”

In 2016, the US and Israeli governments signed a memorandum of understanding for the 10 years through September 2028 that provides $38 billion in military aid, consisting of $33 billion in grants to buy military equipment and $5 billion for joint development of missile defense systems.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to “taper off” Israeli dependence on US military aid in the next decade, and has said he would not seek the full renewal of the 2016 aid deal.

“We want to be as independent as possible,” he stated. Referring to a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida late last month, Netanyahu added: “In my visit to President Trump, I said we very deeply appreciate the military aid that America has given us over the years, but here too we’ve come of age, and we’ve developed incredible capacities.”

The US committed to providing billions in military assistance to Israel and Egypt each year when they signed their 1979 US-brokered peace treaty.

While US aid once made up a significant chunk of Israel’s military spending, the percentage it makes up of those funds has significantly declined in recent years as Israel’s economy has flourished.

Under the 2025 budget, the Defense Ministry’s budget swelled to a record NIS 110 billion ($29 billion) out of a total defense budget of NIS​ 136 billion ($36.9 billion).

Part of Israel’s push to end aid stems from frustrations during the Gaza war when several allies halted arms supplies, including the Biden administration, which held up the transfer of some munitions over concerns they could be used in ways that would cause undue harm to Palestinian civilians.