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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Sunday that Washington’s $4 billion in aid to Israel would not be cut off immediately, saying ending the assistance would require congressional approval that is unlikely before the end of the year.
Speaking to i24NEWS, Huckabee addressed President Donald Trump’s announcement last week that U.S. aid to Israel would be halted by the end of the year.
“As far as I know, there’s no abrupt cutoff,” Huckabee said.
He said Congress would have to act to end the aid program entirely, noting that two years remain under the current memorandum of understanding.
“We still have two years on the MOU, but, you know, again, that’s a decision that will be made far from Jerusalem,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee said the proposal to gradually end U.S. assistance originated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he said began discussing the idea about a year and a half ago.
“The whole idea of phasing out the aid really was the prime minister’s,” Huckabee said.
Trump announced Nov. 3 that the U.S. would stop providing $4 billion in aid to Israel, saying an agreement had been reached to end the assistance by year’s end.
“We’re not going to give Israel money anymore,” Trump said.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that the unexpected announcement, made on the day of the U.S. midterm elections, caused surprise within Israel’s Defense Ministry and military leadership.
Huckabee also said he had not yet met face-to-face with Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the opposition Yashar Party, who was tasked Sunday by Israel’s president with forming a government.
He said Washington would work with whoever ultimately leads Israel.
“We’re going to work with whoever the government is, because the government will still be the government of the people of Israel and it’s our job to represent the United States to the chosen government,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee made the remarks Sunday evening during his opening address at the 35th International Mayors Conference in Jerusalem, organized by the American Jewish Congress in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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