Fragile front Israel's assault is rocking the foundations of liberal politics

Something odd is happening. A sort of glitch or malfunction. Liberal politicians who refuse to call for a ceasefire in Gaza or halt support for Israel's assault are no longer making sense, and increasingly seem as though they are going through a crisis.

- Nesrine Malik

Garbled language and contradictory statements are becoming common. When Keir Starmer was asked if cutting off water and supplies falls within international law, he said Israel "does have that right". Then, his party claimed he never said this. When Starmer said Labour would not recognise Palestine unilaterally, his shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, told the Financial Times Labour would consider it.

Nowhere are these contradictions clearer than when politicians express unequivocal support for Israel's actions while also expressing concern for civilians in Gaza. David Cameron said he was "worried" that Israel may have broken international law, but that this did not change the UK's stance on exporting weapons to Israel. Riddle me that. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said that 7 October could not be taken as licence to "dehumanise" others, but his government chose twice to bypass Congress and provide more weapons to Israel.