Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) issued the following statement in response to yesterday's U.S. State Department's caution to Israel to not dissolve their agreements with the Palestinian Authority.  Rep. Engel is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"I support a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however by pressing for UN recognition, the Palestinians are not only already in violation of their agreements with Israel, they are also abrogating UN Security Council Resolution 242 which says the Palestinians get land in exchange for peace.  If the Palestinians remain unwilling to sit at the negotiating table with Israel, they do not yet deserve recognition as a state.  The State Department should direct its criticism toward the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah."

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