The Middle-East

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This sounds good. It's tapping into the roots of the Ottoman Empire, and it worked in Europe (until they went the proverbial bridge too far with the euro):

A recent example suggests that this model is more than a historical artifact. Six years ago, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan announced a free-trade zone and visa-free travel among the four countries. Economically, the Arab world and Turkey became more integrated than they had been for nearly a cen­tury as trade doubled to $30 billion between 2007 and 2011.  Arab travel to Turkey rose by nearly 50 per­cent in 2010 compared to the previous year. 

Soon after, Syr­ian protesters, inspired by popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, took to the streets and were met with a vi­cious response from the Assad regime.  By the fall, Turkey and others imposed sanctions on Syria, and the Levantine integration project disintegrated. This short-lived integration experiment provided a peek at the potential for a new turn in the region’s politics.  Economic integration, by definition, offers a shared vision of prosperity, and allows insulation against the sectarianism and ethnic hatred which fuels violent extremists, including ISIS and others.

An Innovative Approach to Middle East Peace Based on Trade and Commerce | RealClearPolitics

Difficult to start now with all the turmoil, but it remains a good idea.

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Right-wingers have messed this up as well, this time in Israel itself..

The dramatic change in Israel’s domestic politics has shaped Netanyahu’s handling of the moribund peace process with the Palestinians, the primary focus of Kerry’s blistering speech on Wednesday.

Netanyahu has publicly committed himself to a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict. In practice, though, he has overseen a massive expansion of Israel’s web of West Bank settlements, which now house more than 500,000 Israelis and occupy so much territory that it would be almost impossible to cobble together a contiguous Palestinian state.

And that, to Netanyahu’s rivals on Israel’s right, is exactly the point. Naftali Bennett, the head of the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, told reporters last month that “the era of a Palestinian state is over.” Bennett wants Israel to formally annex 60 percent of the West Bank, a move that would deal a final death blow to the prospect of an independent Palestine.

The real reason for Netanyahu’s showdown with Obama - Vox