Since the 1960s, the United States has been a very strong supporter of Israel. It has played a key role in the promotion of good relations between Israel and its neighbouring Arab states—namely Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, along with several others in the 2020 Abraham Accords—while also holding off hostility from other Middle Eastern countries such as Syria and Iran. Relations with Israel are a very important factor in the U.S. government's overall foreign policy in the Middle East, and the U.S. Congress has likewise placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid: until February 2022, the United States had provided Israel US$ 150 billion (non-inflation-adjusted) in bilateral assistance. In 1999, the US government signed a Memorandum of Understanding through which it committed to providing Israel with at least US$ 2.67 in military aid annually, for the following ten years; in 2009, the annual amount was raised to US$3 billion; and in 2019, the amount was raised again, now standing at a minimum of US that the US is committed to providing Israel each year. Since 1972, the United States has also extended loan guarantees – a form of indirect U.S. assistance to Israel, as they enable Israel to borrow from commercial US banks at lower rates – to Israel to assist with housing shortages, Israel’s absorption of new Jewish immigrants and its economic recovery following the 2000-2003 recession, caused in part by the Second Intifada. Moreover, the United States is Israel's largest trading partner, and Israel is the United States' 25th-largest trading partner; two-way trade totaled some $36 billion in 2013. In addition to financial and military aid, the United States also provides large-scale political support to Israel, having used its United Nations Security Council veto power 42 times against resolutions condemning Israel, out of a total 83 times in which its veto has ever been used. Between 1991 and 2011, out of the 24 vetoes invoked by the United States, 15 were used to protect Israel. The United States' readiness to stand on behalf of Israel has been linked to the influence of pro-Israeli lobbies in U.S. politics, most notably AIPAC. Bilateral relations have evolved from an initial American policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948, to a partnership that links a small but powerful Israeli state with