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‘Freedom of Speech’ Is a Trojan Horse for Supporting Hamas
Members of Kneecap pose on the red carpet at the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards in Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
What does Hamas have to do with freedom of speech?
Hamas is a proscribed organization under section 12 of the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000. It is an imprisonable offense to invite support for Hamas.
For some, this is unacceptable.
In May, the rap group Kneecap performed to tens of thousands at a music festival in London, leading the crowd in a chant of “Free Palestine.”
They were allowed to headline the festival despite one of the members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, being charged under the 2000 Act for inviting support for proscribed terrorist organisations. Video had emerged of him at another performance in London raising Hezbollah’s flag and leading the crowd in a chant of “up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”
Given their name, this may be unsurprising. “Kneecapping” was the practice of Northern Irish militants shooting captive dissidents in the kneecaps. Their name glorifies terrorism.
Now, Kneecap has claimed persecution, and harm to their freedom of speech, for supporting terrorist organizations that target Jews.
Yet their incitements have gone without consequence.
Kneecap alleged that the organizers of the festival “tried to stop this gig” because of their statements. This is false: the festival was initially cancelled, but only because the local council had failed to obtain permission for the festival.
If anything, Kneecap’s infamy has boosted their popularity. The group have sold out a performance in Glasgow in under 30 seconds, and announced their biggest ever performance in the UK.
They have weaponized a bad faith claim of freedom of speech for themselves and Hamas.
And they are not the only ones to do so.
Riverway Law, an English law firm, seeks to challenge the proscription of Hamas as unlawful. At first glance, Riverway Law’s engagement is an odd choice. They specialize in immigration, not public law. They have no experience with proscription.
The lawyers of the firm describe Hamas as “an organised resistance movement that exercises the right of the Palestinian people to resist Zionism and the colonisation, occupation, apartheid, and genocide carried out in its name.”
They say proscription of Hamas chills speech and makes successful negotiations for a just settlement impossible. They validate Hamas by analogizing it with the ANC in South Africa.
Riverway Law relies on expert witnesses to make bold arguments. One witness submits that proscription of Hamas makes it impossible to criticise Israel or its “genocide.” Another claims that the proscription caused the violence on October 7, 2023.
One lawyer claims that October 7 was merely a “military maneuver targeting the Gaza Division of Israel’s Southern Command”; that Hamas fighters were directed not to massacre innocent civilians, but instead only “to attack military targets [emphasis in the original].”
These claims are ghoulish and false. In the UK, it is legal to criticize Israel and its conduct of the war. When Israel is held to the same standard as other countries, criticism of it cannot even be regarded as antisemitic. And there is no indication that Hamas seeks a just settlement with Israel, unless that settlement means no Israel.
One might argue that, as lawyers, Riverway Law are only acting on their clients’ instructions. Some South African law firms insisted in an open letter that Riverway Law did not “share the political or ideological positions of those they represent.”
But Riverway Law was not required to accept Hamas’ case. Indeed, Riverway Law are acting pro bono, because it is unlawful to deal with the funds of proscribed organizations.
Of course, ideology is unlikely to be the sole motive. Pursuit of fame is also at play. This explains the cringeworthy video of Riverway Law hand-delivering their petition (the video was later taken down by Riverway Law, though the footage is available elsewhere), and their decision to host a website purely for this lawsuit (which, to avoid falling foul of the 2000 Act, requires users to submit a disclaimer accepting that the website “does not support Hamas”.)
But Fahad Ansari, Director and Principal Solicitor of Riverway Law, has called Hamas leaders “martyrs” according to press articles. In a press conference, intending to prove that he only acted as a lawyer, Ansari referred to Hamas as an “Islamic resistance movement.” And the barrister instructed by Riverway Law, Franck Magennis, posted on his X account to proclaim “Victory to the intifada” on October 7, and to call for Israel to be “dismantled.”
Riverway Law and Kneecap have this in common: they both seem to support Hamas. Freedom of speech is, at best, incidental.
Asher Abramson is a lawyer in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The post ‘Freedom of Speech’ Is a Trojan Horse for Supporting Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.