Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, is among the Democrats in the House of Representatives to oppose a United Nations declaration of statehood for Palestine.

Mr. Owens, who visited Israel and the Palestinian territories this summer, supports a two-state solution, but not in this manner.

"It is our strong belief that such unilateral action would have devastating consequences for the peace process and the Palestinians themselves. Accordingly, we urge you in the strongest terms not to support this effort," Mr. Owens and his colleagues wrote. "We believe that the only way to achieve a two-state solution is through direct negotiations leading to a peace treaty fully accepted by both governments and by both peoples."

For more background than I am qualified to give, read the New York Times on the issue.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer