WASHINGTON, DC-Representative Eliot L. Engel, the leading Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement regarding a proposed United Nations Security Council Resolution that would establish timetables for the recognition of Palestinian statehood.
"This week’s action at the United Nations demonstrates that the Palestinians are not serious about negotiating an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. A UN Security Council Resolution that imposes timetables for Palestinian statehood eliminates any incentive for the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. A Palestinian state will only be born at the negotiating table where the parties themselves reach a mutually agreed upon arrangement. Unilateral action at the United Nations will only lead to greater instability and uncertainty for the Palestinian people, and make it that much harder to achieve a durable two-state solution. I call on the Administration to veto any UN Security Council Resolution that imposes timetables.".
