Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) today issued the following statement regarding an expected United Nations Security Council vote calling for an end to Israeli settlements.

"While I have serious concerns about the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, I believe the conditions for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians can only come about through direct negotiations between the two parties. I urge President Obama to veto the possible United Nations Security Council resolution today. Such a move would be consistent both with long-standing U.S. policy and with the Obama Administration's past actions. The vote scheduled today does not help bring about the conditions for peace. The Security Council has not historically been an impartial arbiter and it is not the right forum to resolve grievances, and it cannot bring about a two-state solution, or a permanent peace."