Podium: Our vision for a Palestinian state – and obligations that go with it

By providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza, we aim to foster conditions in which a Palestinian state can be fully realised – a state that is a responsible partner, is at peace with Israel and its Arab neighbours, and is accountable to its people; a state that Palestinians everywhere can be proud of and is respected worldwide. This is the Palestinian state we all envision. This is the Palestinian state that we have an obligation to help create.

For the Israelis, that means showing the Palestinians that there are benefits to negotiating if their goal is to control their own destiny and live in peace and dignity in an economically viable state. For the Arab states, it means signaling through words and deeds that the spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative can begin to govern attitudes toward Israel now. For all of us – the Arab states and the wider international community – it means working with the government of the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority, to help build a state that can meet international expectations and obligations.

And for the Palestinians, it means that it is time to break the cycle of rejection and resistance, to cut the strings pulled by those who exploit the suffering of innocent people, and show the world what the talent and skills of an exceptional people can build and create. That is why we're here today – not only to address Gaza's urgent needs, but to move ahead toward genuine Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli peace.

The positive approaches I've outlined offer an opportunity for even greater progress if our Palestinian partners can continue to work with us and abide by the PLO commitments to renounce violence and recognise Israel's right to exist. The Quartet, in adopting its own principles, has agreed with the Arab League that the interests of the Palestinian people are best served under a government that abides by the PLO commitments. Only a Palestinian Authority that adheres to these principles can fulfill the aspirations of the Palestinian people to be free, independent, prosperous and peaceful, flourishing in a viable state of their own.

Taken from a an address by US Secretary of State to the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday