Footage of Irish rappers Kneecap performing at a London venue in November is being assessed by counter-terrorism police in the UK.
Clips posted online appear to show one member of the group shouting ‘up Hamas, up Hezbollah’ at a performance at the Kentish Town Forum, and a Hezbollah flag being displayed. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are banned in the UK and it is a crime to express support for them.
A police spokesperson said: ‘We have been made aware of the video and it has been referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment.’
Kneecap have already come under fire for their performance at US music festival Coachella on April 18.
The group displayed messages on a large screen during their performance, including: ‘Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people’, ‘It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes’ and ‘F*** Israel. Free Palestine’.
It ignited a controversy in the US, featuring in media including Fox News, the LA Times and Variety.
The manager of the Irish language rappers from Belfast said yesterday they had received death threats after Coachella, with Daniel Lambert telling RTÉ Radio that the nature of the threats would be ‘too severe’ to outline on air.
Mr Lambert added: ‘They have the bravery and the conviction to stand up for what’s right, and are willing to do that despite the fact that it may harm their career, despite the fact that it may harm their income, and they should be praised massively for that.’
Mr Lambert said that suggesting the rappers’ message at Coachella was offensive would be ‘buying into moral hysteria’ and said the real issue was the tens of thousands of people being killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.
The Coachella controversy led to Sharon Osbourne calling for the Belfast trio to have their US work visas revoked, amid an ongoing tour in the country and Kneecap hit back yesterday, with a reference to one of her husband Ozzy Osbourne’s songs with Black Sabbath.
The band shared a satirical article on their Instagram with the headline: ‘Sharon Osbourne shocked to learn meaning of “War Pigs” after reading lyrics for first time.’
By Margaret Davis and Gráinne Ní Aodha