As the level of brutality of the Hamas-Israel conflict further intensifies, and its effects become measured by the scale of defiance of international humanitarian and criminal law, it is vitally important that we retain the intellectual ability to step back from the horrors of the current confrontation and reflect on two fundamentals that must define any conversation on any type of settlement over the long term. One is Israel’s right to exist within secure borders under international law; the other is the equally sacrosanct legal right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.