Meeting Obligations

October 19, 2007

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, American Task Force on Palestine Annual Gala, October 17, 2007:

"We continue to encourage both Israel and the Palestinians to meet their obligations under the Roadmap. There is no alternative to progress on the ground. Israel should halt settlement expansion, remove unauthorized outposts, and reduce its footprint in the West Bank. I know the Israelis are serious about peace, but it is important that the Palestinian people know and see that as well.

"The Palestinians have to seriously undertake reforms to show that they can govern themselves and to set up the necessary institutions of their future state. They have to work harder to combat terror and extremism in their communities to prove that a Palestinian state can thrive peacefully alongside its neighbors. …

"We all have a duty to help clarify the way forward and get involved. By supporting the reforms of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, we can all help show the world what a Palestinian state will look like and act like, showing that a Palestinian state can be a partner for peace and prosperity in the world."



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“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

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