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."

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