From Mr John Warren Gotsch.

Sir, The last time I looked, Israel and Palestine were in the east Mediterranean. Not a silly observation, as too often conflict-resolution negotiators - such as those looking from the outside in, to resolve the seemingly intractable differences between Is­raelis and Palestinians - never step back to look at the conflict from a wider perspective. As an amateur photographer, I can tell you the world looks very different through my 200mm telescope lens than through my 20mm wide-angle lens.

By looking at Israel and Palestine in the larger context of the Mediterranean region, a number of thoughts come to mind. Why not, for example, consider the historic Hanseatic League trading association as a model for the Mediterranean region, with France, Spain, Italy and Turkey as the "big bells" and Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Palestine, Egypt and other North African states as the "little bells".

As the Hanseatic League, in the North and Baltic Seas, amply demonstrated from the 12th to the 16th centuries much more can be gained from horizontal co-operation than from vertical solutions. I would think Turkey would jump at such an opportunity, especially with its application for European Union admission seemingly put on hold, through no fault of its willingness to innovate.

The Mediterranean Trading Association could co-operate on a host of new technologies in basic industries, such as multi-hulled ship-building, electrical generation, sewage and water pollution treatment programmes, tourism and information technologies for educational initiatives, all of them sectors in which Israel clearly has much to contribute.

There is no end to such possibilities for such a regional co-operative enterprise, if only EU leaders began to think "out of the box" in their visions for the future. Is it so difficult to see that the so-called "intractable differences" between Israel and the Palestinians would be completely overwhelmed by real questions leading to a brighter future for all parties throughout the region?

You want a solution to international terrorism? The Mediterranean Trading Association just may be the first step.

John Warren Gotsch,

Ateliers Pro Arts, APA,

Budapest, Hungary