How can abolishing the home, religion and faith of millions be deemed acceptable? (Alistair, Creative Commons)

The battle between the two spirals as Hamas, a powerful terrorist organization in control of Gaza, continuously fires rockets into Israel from populated facilities, such as schools and churches, and uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields. Mark Regev, an Israeli Spokesman, declared that Hamas is committing war crimes and breaking international law by using its civilians in order to frame Israel as the world’s enemy.

Since Israel can locate exactly from where Hamas is firing the rockets, Israel’s (and anyone else’s) initial response would be to reciprocate the attack by firing on the location of Hamas’s strongholds in order to minimize Hamas’s influence. However, if Israel were to do so, innocent civilian lives would be taken. While Israel is not denying that some innocent civilians have died due to unsafe, warlike conditions, Israel has no motivation to harm innocent families living in the Gaza Strip. Instead, Regev emphasized, Israel is “making the maximum effort” to only target Hamas. Israel has no choice. If it stops defending itself, there will be no Israel. If Hamas stops the fire, there will be peace.

Unfortunately, citizens of Israel and Gaza are continually losing their loved ones.

In spite of this divide in the Middle East, the actions of the son of a Hamas founder and leader, Mosab Hasan Yousef, demonstrated a commitment to stopping the violence. The well-respected author of “Son of Hamas” was raised in a conservative Muslim community where he studied the Qur'an and was instilled with Muslim values. He explains, “I was motivated by political, personal, ideological, and national, and social agendas, and reasons to hate the State of Israel."

At the age of 17, Yousef was confined with his father in an Israeli prison. Here, he witnessed innocent Palestinians undergo torturous acts of cruelty by Hamas. He watched as his own people treated their fellow brothers with disrespect and put them to shame. Yousef began to question the identity of his real enemies. He later aided Israel by spying on Hamas, in order to save lives. During a speech at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles earlier in 2012, Yousef informed his audience that Hamas works toward two goals: to destroy the State of Israel and to create an Islamic state on the "captured" land of Israel.

Doesn’t every culture have the right to believe in its creed and practice its own traditions and customs? How can abolishing the home, religion and faith of millions be deemed acceptable?

After eight days of conflict, when a ceasefire was finally implemented on Wednesday, November 21, “a dozen rockets landed on Israel in open areas,” a police spokesman said. Hamas clearly remains hungry for power, not peace, and believes that violence can give it what it wants. During live coverage of the conflict between Israel and Gaza, Yasmine Saleh and Nidal al-Mughrabi of Reuters reported that a “deep mistrust on both sides cast[s] doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal [the ceasefire] can last.” It is evident that Israel wants to be free from the harassment of the Palestinians, and instead experience peace.

However, in order to ensure a healthier and more peaceful environment for Gaza, Gaza must be freed from Hamas. It is only then that the violence will stop and peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis will forever hold.

Civilians in Gaza and Israel continue to live in distress. No individual deserves to wake up to firing rockets and missiles, witness bloodshed daily, or dread a simple run to the grocery because they fear they will not return. The situation in the Middle East is a great reminder for us living in America that the freedom we have is a privilege and an honor: it allows us to realize that peace provides us the opportunity to feel safe, to live, to laugh, to love and to learn, free of victimization and horror.

Will there ever be peace in the Middle East?