Knee-jerk reaction for Kneecap

British counter terrorism police launched an investigation into online videos of Irish rap group Kneecap on Thursday after the band denied supporting Hamas and Hezbollah or inciting violence against UK politicians, reported AFP.

The announcement came as nearly 40 other groups and artists, among them Pulp, Paul Weller and Primal Scream, rallied around the band in an escalating row about political messaging at its concerts. Other artists who have offered their support include The Pogues, Massive Attack, Dexys and Thin Lizzy.

"As artists, we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom," the group said in a joint statement.

They added there had been a "clear, concerted attempt to censor and ultimately deplatform" the trio for their criticism of Israel's genocide in Gaza, as well as of British colonialism in Ireland and beyond.

Since the row erupted, Kneecap has had several concerts cancelled, including one in southwest England and three in Germany.

Festivals in the Czech Republic and The Netherlands were also monitoring the situation, according to the PA news agency.

London's Metropolitan Police said two videos had been "referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment by specialist officers, who have determined there are grounds for further investigation into potential offences linked to both videos".

The investigation was "now being carried out by officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command and inquiries remain ongoing at this time", it added.

Kneecap on Monday apologised to the families of murdered British politicians and denied supporting Hamas and Hezbollah.

Call for ban

The row began after police on Sunday said they were examining video footage. One video appeared to show a band member shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah".

Those groups, in Gaza and in Lebanon, are banned as terror organisations in the UK and it is a crime to express support for them.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin had urged the band to clarify whether they supported the groups or not.

Video also emerged of the Belfast rap trio at a 2023 gig appearing to show one member saying: "The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP."

The family of Conservative MP David Amess, who was fatally stabbed by an Islamic State group follower in 2021, called for an apology from Kneecap while the party leader Kemi Badenoch called for the band to be banned.

Other politicians have urged organisers of the Glastonbury festival to drop them from this year's line-up.

In its denial issued late on Monday, Kneecap said video footage had been "deliberately taken out of context.

"Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah," it said, adding the band would never "seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever".

"To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt," it said, also referring to Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered in 2016 by a neo-Nazi sympathiser a week before the divisive Brexit referendum.

Amess's daughter Katie, however, welcomed the investigation by counter terrorism police.

"Kneecap's rhetoric is not only abhorrent but poses a direct threat to the safety and well-being of elected officials," she said.

Israel's military operation in Gaza since October 7, 2023 has caused a humanitarian crisis and killed at least 52,243 Palestinians, mainly children.

Massive Attack's support

In a powerful Instagram statement posted on Wednesday, Massive Attack took aim at what they called a "disproportionate" backlash against Kneecap following their Coachella performance, where the group projected censored anti-Israel messages during their second-weekend set.

"If senior politicians can't even condemn the killing of voluntary aid workers or the mass starvation of civilians in Gaza," Massive Attack wrote, "why should a music festival take moral cues from them on who to book?" They didn't mince words, citing the "commercial implications of publicly expressing solidarity" but insisting that silence in the face of genocide is the greater sin.

The group called out what they see as strategic outrage—one that ignores the actual crisis in Gaza. "Language matters, of course," they wrote, referencing past murders of UK politicians. "But are the same politicians and media pundits who clutch their pearls over punk lyrics saying anything about the real-time genocide in Gaza?" Their conclusion was unequivocal: "Kneecap are not the story. Gaza is the story."

In the end, this isn't simply about a festival lineup but rather about what gets amplified and what gets erased. And in Massive Attack's words, the real headline isn't a punk band with a mic—it's a people without a voice.