US Congress approves defense aid to Israel for 2026

The House of Representatives has approved the Financial Services, General Government, Homeland Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2026.

Within the framework of the law, about two dozen items related to Israel were approved. It should be emphasized that none of these points are new, and some have been approved year after year for several decades.

The main points are the paragraphs regarding the allocation of defense assistance to Israel under the ten-year agreement for 2019-2028 – $3.3 billion for defense procurement, with the right to spend $250 million in shekels on purchases in Israel and an additional $500 million on missile defense.

Other items include $6.5 million in assistance to accept repatriates, scholarships for Israeli Arabs, U.S. guarantees for up to $9 billion in Israeli foreign currency loans (not currently in use), and an option to lease U.S. military equipment (instead of purchasing).

The law also contains such items as conditioning defense assistance to Egypt on compliance with the terms of the peace treaty with Israel, a ban on cooperation with the UNHRC until the anti-Israel paragraph of its charter is repealed, a ban on funding a commission to investigate Israel’s actions, a ban on moving the US Embassy from Jerusalem, restrictions on funding other anti-Israel UN structures, restrictions on funding the Palestinian Authority, a ban on funding the IAEA in the event of Israel being excluded from it.