U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would end about 4 billion U.S. dollars in annual military aid to Israel by year's end, a decision Israeli officials met with surprise and concern.
"We were giving them 4 billion [U.S.] dollars, we are, but it gets cut off at the end of the year," Trump said in an interview with a U.S. news organization.
Trump said the assistance had included both military equipment and financial support, describing it variously as military aid, cash, or "barter."
He added that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed ending the assistance for years, and that Netanyahu himself had raised the idea.
"They don't need it," Trump said. "Israel's our number one. We give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it."
One Israeli official said the prime minister's office had not published any formal document on the matter, and some government departments were described as "surprised" by the decision and "worried about" its consequences.
The defense establishment was said to be unclear on the precise meaning of Trump's remarks, the timeline for implementation, or whether it signals a change in the security relationship, sources said.
Under the current U.S.-Israel 10-year security assistance agreement, Washington provides about 3.8 billion U.S. dollars a year, an arrangement that runs until 2028.
Trump says Israel no longer needs U.S. aid; Israeli officials concerned
Trump says Israel no longer needs U.S. aid; Israeli officials concerned
Communist and leftist party leaders from around the world expressed full support for the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s self-governance approach and anti-corruption drive at a forum in Beijing on Tuesday, calling the practices essential to the Party's vibrant rule and a model worth studying for the rest of the world.
They were in the Chinese capital to attend the 16th World Socialism Forum. Organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the two-day annual event has become a major platform for exchanges among foreign Communist Party leaders, influential leftist social activists, experts, and Chinese Marxist scholars.
This year's forum was convened shortly after the 20th CPC Central Committee concluded its fifth plenary session on Oct 29, which adopted a resolution on persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance.
The plenary session also called for fortifying the cultural-ethical foundations for championing integrity and disdaining graft, and for enhancing coordinated efforts to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to commit corruption.
"We've just heard in the opening session this morning, a number of speeches reflecting on the key developments within the fifth plenary session, in particular the whole question of self-reform and party self-governance. And this is critical. Some of the contributions this morning have been really important for me and for other people in this World Socialism Forum, very important contributions because they stress that they have to be deeply rooted in a commitment to the people, they have to be people centered," said Alexander Fraser Gordon, general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain.
"We think that the outcomes of this session is very important for the Party ruling, Marxist vibrant ruling and Marxist party. And we think that the self-governance and anti-corruption plan are very important for the continuous building of a party. And the anti-corruption [campaign] is a very important plan in order to clean the party from any dysfunction," said Said Bakkali, international secretary of the Party of Progress and Socialism in Morocco.
Some participants also shared their insights on how the CPC's experience could contribute to broader global development.
"It's absolutely true that it's open a new window that this in Europe we didn't open yet, which is to say how can we improve political parties, as a working class or populous class representation in our own term, in order to reach a good governance. It's a base that we didn't answer in Europe yet, so I'm seriously sure that this new contribution from China is going to help us open that window," said Marga Ferre, president of Transform!Europe.
"I think that it is very important, for a party to reflect on the [re]form and the self-governance of the party. Because this party has huge responsibilities in China and I would say for the world. And a proper management of the party and an enhanced capacity of self-reform of the party is very, very important. It's not a side issue -- it is probably a central issue," said Vladimiro Giacche, vice president of the Marx 21 Political and Cultural Association.
The forum also featured topics including the impact of the CPC's 105-year history of struggle on the course of world history and global challenges in party governance and China's approach to overcoming difficulties in party development, among others.
Global communist, leftist leaders endorse CPC's self-governance approach at Beijing forum
