More than 100 members of the European Parliament signed a letter urging the European Union to reject the unilateral Palestinian bid for statehood.

The letter, sent July 11 by 106 members of the pan-European governing body, to Lady Catherine Ashton, the head of foreign affairs and security policy for the E.U. and the 27 E.U. member states, asks Ashton “to discourage unilateral Palestinian efforts to attain U.N. recognition.”

“A unilateral move will not bring reconciliation; it will not bring stability; it will not bring peace,” the letter reads. “Rather, it will most likely fell the peace process for good.”

Only a return to negotiations can solve the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the letter says. — jta