Ed Royce: “I want to begin by thanking the ranking member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel). I thank him for working with me…”

“I want to begin by thanking the ranking member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel). I thank him for working with me in a bipartisan manner not just on this resolution but on the one that we worked on late last year--a unanimous vote by this body directing the administration not to take the steps that the administration has taken. I appreciate the leader and the Speaker as well working with us to ensure this resolution was brought quickly to the floor of this House. Today, we put Congress on record objecting to the recent U.N. Security Council resolution that hurt our ally, that hurt Israel, and I believe that puts an enduring peace further out of reach. {time} 1730 Mr. Speaker, the United States has long recognized that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only come about through direct bilateral negotiations between these two parties, and that is why it is longstanding U.S. policy to veto the many one-sided, the many anti- Israel resolutions at the United Nations Security Council that violate that principle. But just the other week, the Obama administration broke with this longstanding U.S. policy by failing to veto U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334. This dangerous resolution effectively states that the Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, are, in the words of the resolution, ``occupied territory.'' Why would we not veto that?…”