US President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Sept. 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied reports that his country is seeking a new 20-year military aid deal with the US, insisting that the Jewish state is working to wean itself off American assistance. 

“I don’t know what they’re talking about. My direction is the exact opposite,” Netanyahu said on “The Erin Molan Show” on Thursday when asked by the Australian journalist about a new Axios report saying Israel was pursuing the security agreement.

According to Axios, the deal under discussion would include “America First” provisions to win the Trump administration’s support. The current 10-year memorandum of understanding between the two countries — the third such agreement signed — expires in 2028. It includes around $3.8 billion of annual military aid to Israel, which spends nearly all the assistance in the US to purchase American-made weapons and equipment.

The report comes amid growing criticism in the US among progressives and, increasingly, some conservatives over American military support for Israel, especially among younger Americans.

“Now, I want to make our arms industry independent, totally as independent as possible,” Netanyahu said on Thursday. “I think that it is time to ensure that Israel is independent.”

Netanyahu added that US defense aid to Israel is a “tiny fraction” of what Washington spends in the Middle East.

“We have a very strong economy, a very strong arms industry, and even though we get what we get, which we appreciate, 80 percent of that is spent in the US and produces jobs in the US,” he continued, saying he wants to see “an even more independent Israeli defense industry.”

The Israeli premier went on to stress that his country has never asked a single American solider to fight for Israel.

“Israel does not ask others to fight for us,” he said. “Israel is the one American ally in the world that says, ‘We don’t need boots on the ground, we don’t need American servicemen fighting on the ground for Israel or around Israel. We’re fine.’ We fight our own battles, but in doing so, we serve important American interests, like preventing countries that chant ‘Death to America’ from having nuclear bombs to throw at America.”