WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement on the United Nations Security Council vote on Israeli settlement activity:

“I am very disappointed by the United States’ acquiescence to a one-sided, biased resolution at the United Nations Security Council.  I have always believed that Israel can’t get a fair shake at the UN, and that is why Israel has relied on the United States to protect it from the anti-Israel tendencies of some UN Security Council members.  This abstention represents a clear departure from convention, and I consider this a break in the Obama administration’s word that they would veto biased or one-sided anti-Israel resolutions.  

“This resolution places the blame for the current impasse in negotiations entirely on Israel, asking nothing of the Palestinians.  This offends me as someone who has been a firm believer in the two-state solution.  I hope that in my lifetime, we will come to see two states for two peoples.  However, this resolution sets back this dream.  A sustainable solution to the conflict will only come from direct negotiations between the two parties.”

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