1/6 Hamas’ barbarism on October 7th set a diabolical trap for Israel. No government on earth would tolerate murder & hostage taking. Amid the catastrophic heartbreak & trauma, the strategic issue for Israel is not the right to retaliate, but the right way to retaliate. 2/6 Israel’s right to self defence is clear. So too are the painful lessons of history. Hamas are manifestly not the Palestinian people. International humanitarian law matters & so too does international support. How the war against Hamas is waged matters.

(1/14) There is no heavier responsibility a Government & (when consulted) Parliament faces than whether to commit our armed forces into combat. (2/14) Today, as the Cabinet meets, some are seeking to draw lessons from the August 2013 votes in the House of Commons.