I am a Muslim. And a devout Muslim. I love all Muslims very dearly. My love is for all believers. Right now it is impossible to support the loss of innocent lives in both Israel and Palestine. So far, more than 130 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed.

Direct peace talks should immediately begin and both sides should consent to this. Otherwise, whichever international laws we look at, launching rockets at a state and causing the deaths of its citizens attracts a right to reprisal. In this way, both sides justify their actions by consider the strikes as defense on their part. Besides, even if unintentionally, Hamas is putting Palestine in the wrong in the eyes of international organizations by constantly adopting this mistaken approach.

If the Palestinians wish to enjoy greater justification, the way to do this is not by slaughtering innocent people on the other side. Such attacks during a state of peace will attract a reprisal anywhere in the world. Civilian people in Israel are living in fear in shelters due to the rockets fired from Gaza. There has been blind conflict between the two sides for many years now; the children of Israel on the one side and the children of Ishmael on the other. These two peoples that should be living side by side in peace in those ancient, lovely lands are fighting one another instead.

Many people in Palestine I have spoken to are exceedingly alarmed by this behavior of Hamas’s and do not support attacks on the innocent people of Israel. There is nothing to support in this behavior, which will clearly never produce any results and that merely causes destruction. If people support that and say they are Muslims, then they are unfamiliar with the commandments of the Quran. Whether or not the response to these attacks is a just one, is another matter.

The idea that any war would ever inflict equal casualties on both sides is also not realistic. This would be state terrorism. So once again we come down to the need for a peaceful solution. An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. At this point the only way to resolve matters is to cease fire and attain direct peace without any further defense. As a matter of fact, this conflict can solely be settled with love and compassion just as religion commands us.

That being the case, the task of finding the middle ground again falls to Muslims. Egypt and Turkey need to come together and find middle ground between the sides. The Jews are our brothers in the oneness of God. Allah says in the Quran:

…make peace between your brothers and have fear of Allah so that hopefully you will gain mercy.

As a Muslim I am reaching out with love and compassion to the people of Israel and the people of Palestine who are both our brothers. As Muslims, we should work together and strive for a union among our brothers living in the Holy Lands. Turkey and Israel working together hand in hand, will be a step toward the establishment of a new pact.