On Monday, August 11, 2014, ASP Consensus member and former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Tara D. Sonenshine released an article titled “Cementing peace in the Middle East” through thehill.com.

Secretary Sonenshine stated:

Cement is one of those pesky “dual-use items” — materials for positive work, like building homes, roads and schools, or negative work like building tunnels, bunkers and fortified positions from which to fire rockets. So much depends on intent.

She continued:

One way out of the Israel-Gaza cement gridlock is to let the Palestinian National Authority monitor the border. That would give the West Bank and its leader, President Mahmoud Abbas, enormous authority — and responsibility. It could mean that people as well as products cross the border only after vigorous international inspection.

She concluded:

In the rubble that now describes Gaza, and in the resolve that now defines Israel, something must be built. It will be a slow process — brick by brick. After a month of an air and ground assault, patience on all sides is in short supply. What is required now is faith — and verification — to cement a peace.

Read the full article:

Cementing peace in the Middle East

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