Israel and Gaza: Politics not religion

Whilst the conflict in the Middle East continues it is difficult to make any statement whilst at the same time not being seen to be supporting one side over another. So, to start this statement we should like to say that we feel no enmity to any of the religions caught up in this war, in fact quite the opposite, we have great respect for each of these religions and at their core their message is peace and love – not conflict.
What we are dealing with is a political conflict positioned and framed as a religious one. It is not a religious war. This is the first fallacy.
Our call is that violence should cease on both sides and humanitarian aid must be allowed to all affected parties.
What we, as observers of this conflict, do not know is, who are the hidden forces behind the violence.
What is clear is that there are violations of international law on both sides and indicators of far more sophisticated planning on one side and hardline action on the other.
It is almost impossible to untangle the web of so many years of conflict in the area. One side does this, the other does that. Back and forth, hit and run, react.
What we seem to lose sight of is that any decent human being should be able to sit with another and come to an agreement in order to live together in fellowship and peace. So why cannot governments? Fanaticism may be seen as a religious phenomenon as well as a political one but it rarely represents or dominates the majority and when it does then that is the downfall of tolerance and understanding. We see here not religious conflict but attempts at political gain, cloaked with a religious sheen.
We urge, one and all, once again, to peel back the apparency and look behind the headlines in order to find the real motivations. Who is perpetuating the conflict, what interests on the international stage would fund or covertly support this conflict? Who benefits from war and weaponry in this multi-billion-dollar industry? Who benefits on different national stages?
I only have questions but I think we should demand the answers a great deal more forcefully from our own governments, from our intelligence services, and other players who have greater insight into the conflict and better and more in-depth sources of information .
Our second call, besides an immediate peace and ceasefire is to identify some truly independent parties who can investigate circumstances and facilitate a peace process.