TWO key developments show the rank hypocrisy about the Israeli slaughter in Gaza. They show also how the attacks could be brought to an end soon, but while US and Israeli intransigence lasts, they probably will continue for some time.

There have not been many grounds for optimism since the Israeli revenge attacks began after October 7 2023. These attacks themselves have long since morphed into an attempt to eradicate much of the population and permanently displace the rest, so that many sober observers do not hesitate to call it a genocide.

The onslaught could be halted now, if the will was there. There is no question of a “war” which requires at least two organised antagonists, whereas in Gaza, there is now only one.

An utter catastrophe that has been inflicted on the Palestinian people. Almost the entire population, which began as two million people, has been displaced from their homes on multiple occasions. Very few buildings are undamaged, and most are no longer standing. The health, education, transport and water networks have all been deliberately targeted and destroyed.

Now, the people are starving and ill from lack of drinking water. The World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation say that large swathes of the population have reached level five malnutrition levels, at which permanent damage to the body and vital organs is likely, even if a recovery proves possible. On their strict definitions, 20 per cent of the population or more must reach that level before a famine is officially declared. We are approaching that point.

These horrors are well-known to anyone who watches TV news, if not the grotesque details. The Gaza genocide has been uniquely televised. But what is new is that we are approaching a crisis point which is so grave that the options become quite stark.

Either Israel is forced to end the genocide and Palestinian people are allowed to begin some sort of recovery, or very soon the death toll will escalate rapidly, and a recovery, however scarred, may never be possible.

This possibility is definitely contributing to a change of tone in the capitals of Israel’s main Western backers. But action is needed.

It is now commonplace for leading politicians such as the Foreign Secretary to denounce Israeli actions, as he did again in the Commons before the recess. It is equally commonplace for a small band of Tory MPs to offer ringing denunciations of Israel and vociferous criticism of the Foreign Secretary for his complicity in Israel’s actions.

All of this is fully justified. But it is very notable that the critics, either of Israel or of the government’s failure to act, are not met with the usual smears and allegations that have become familiar to anyone who voices support for the Palestinian cause or offers trenchant criticism of Israel. There is not a murmur of criticism about them or their motivations.

Even more remarkably, this is occurring at a time when there is a draconian crackdown on public protest in support of the Palestinians. We have the ridiculous and troubling spectacle of elderly peace campaigners being arrested, and one whose crime was to hold up a copy of a recent cover of Private Eye magazine, ironically, which contrasted the state’s treatment of protesters and its support for the Israeli attacks.

It is clear that certain criticism has been allowed, while activist protest is increasingly banned. That is to say, there are some officially licensed critics of Israel now who will not suffer any punishment for their criticism.

Just last Monday, 25 countries, including Britain, Japan and a host of European nations, issued a joint statement, saying the war in Gaza “must end now.” This was widely described in the media as Israel’s isolation deepening.

Yet some of those countries continue to arm Israel. Britain is one of them. Britain, like the US, also provides military intelligence to Israel for its bombing campaigns in both Gaza and southern Lebanon.

Even in the US, there have been murmurings of unease. Last week, the White House told reporters that Trump had not approved Israel’s earlier air strikes on Syria.

There was widespread criticism in the US of the bombing of the Catholic church in Gaza, suggesting that at least some lives, or some faith groups, matter in the US. It should be recalled that Trump also previously ordered Netanyahu to stop bombing Iran, and the Israeli planes were turned around in mid-flight.

These separate incidents highlight an important truth too about the real relationship between Israel and the US, a relationship which is often deliberately obscured by the Arab governments that want to avoid antagonising the global superpower.

The US bankrolls Israel. It provides huge subsidies and contracts for its tech industry and has increased the flow of funds and weapons so that it can pursue its murderous campaign in Gaza and elsewhere.

Israel could not survive without its backing from the US, and its entire history has been as the military adjunct of one imperial power or another, France, Britain and now the US. As Robert Kennedy Jnr said, for the US, Israel is like a giant aircraft carrier permanently stationed in the region.

If either Biden or Trump wanted this slaughter to end, it would have been over a long time ago.

Quite what the motivation for the verbal criticism of Israel is now hard to be certain. Domestic and international hostility to Israel’s actions is growing, but it is not clear why the governments backing Israel would listen now.

Crucially, it is not affecting US or British government actions. The US and Israel co-ordinated breaking off indirect talks with Hamas. Their joint position is that Israel must be free to resume the slaughter once all prisoners have been released and their opponents are wiped out. This would be agreeing to their own genocide.

We need to be clear that words, or even policy changes, are not enough. The war crimes and mass killings must end.

That means that gestures like Palestinian statehood are all well and good, and no supporter of freedom would oppose them, but the blockade must be ended urgently.

Countries like the 25 should use every means at their disposal to get the aid through. They should break diplomatic relations with Israel if the government does not comply. The supply of weapons must cease immediately, along with the continuing provision of intelligence which assists Israeli military targeting. This applies to our government more than most.

The time for talk has long passed.

Diane Abbott is MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington. Follow her on X @HackneyAbbott.