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Irish Rap Group Kneecap Threatens to Sue Industry Critics Calling for Glastonbury Ban After Anti-Israel Remarks
Members of Kneecap pose on the red carpet at the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards in Dublin, Ireland, February 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo
The Irish rap group Kneecap has threatened to sue music industry figures who have allegedly called for organizers of the Glastonbury Festival in the United Kingdom to remove the trio from its lineup of performers following anti-Israel comments and other offensive remarks made by group members.
Kneecap is currently being investigated by counter-terrorism police in the UK after footage emerged online of them shouting “up Hezbollah, up Hamas” and “kill your local MP [Member of Parliament]” at concerts in 2023 and 2024. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are designated by the UK as terrorist organizations, and it is illegal in the UK to express support for the two Iran-backed Islamist groups.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Monday that a man was interviewed in Belfast on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation related to the videos and that there are “grounds for further investigation into potential offenses” relating to the footage. The clips surfaced online after Kneecap stirred controversy by projecting anti-Israel messages on stage during their performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in April. “F–k Israel, Free Palestine” and “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people” were both projected onto the stage backdrop.
Meanwhile, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said on Monday he thinks the UK and Irish governments should “consider their actions” in relation to providing any fundings to Kneecap, RTE reported. During ministerial question time at the Northern Ireland Assembly, Lyons was asked if he thinks the UK and Irish governments should “distance themselves from the funding of racist, antisemitic, and sectarian state sponsorship in the view of Kneecap.”
“There are always things we can disagree with which other people do in the arts sphere, but this is going far beyond anything which comes anywhere close to dealing with artistic license,” Lyons said in response. “This is the glorification of terrorism and this is also supporting, calling for violence towards MPs. It is incumbent on us to call that out, and I would also call on the UK government and the Irish government to consider their actions in this regard.”
Lyons added that neither his department “nor any of its arm’s length bodies” have provided any funding to Kneecap since 2017.
Glastonbury organizers have been facing pressure to ban the group from the iconic music festival from music industry figures, politicians in the UK, and also pro-Israel supporters in the entertainment industry, including Sharon Osbourne, a former judge on “The X Factor” and the wife of Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne. A number of music industry figures recently sent an email to Glastonbury founder Emily Eavis and two other organizers of the festival, urging them to ban Kneecap from the event set to take place from June 25-29, the Daily Mail reported.
In response, Kneecap’s legal team, Phoenix Law, issued a formal letter to those individuals, threatening to sue them for pressuring Glastonbury organizers to drop the band from the music festival. Kneecap said the music industry figures should issue an “immediate and unequivocal” apology or face legal action.
“Your correspondence seeks to monopolize your status within the industry to impose direct and concerted pressure on Glastonbury, to restrict freedom of expression,” said the legal letter, as reported by the Daily Mail. “Such a direct and coordinated approach seeks to create a chilling effect upon the wider music industry whereby those who hold opposing views, will seek to impose their own view on the wider industry,” it further stated.
“Whilst our clients feel particularly strongly about the freedom of expression, we cannot allow false statements to be asserted dressed up as statements of fact,” Kneecap’s representatives said in the legal letter. “To that end, we write to put you on notice that we are now formally instructed to commence high court civil proceedings for damages for the damage you have inflicted on our client’s reputation. However, before our clients formally seek to issue pre action correspondence, we write to offer you the opportunity to resolve these matters by way of an immediate and unequivocal apology.”
Glastonbury organizers have yet to comment on Kneecap’s offensive remarks and the pressure they are facing to remove the Irish group from the music festival.
So far, Kneecap have been dropped from a number of music festivals this summer — including two in Germany and the Eden Project concert series in the UK — in light of their offensive comments. Others, such as the Wide Awake Festival in southern London, have not canceled their performance and defended the band.
In April, Kneecap apologized and clarified its remarks from 2023 and 2024 in a released statement.
“Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians,” the group said in part. “We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponized, as if it were a call to action.”
In the same statement, Kneecap continued to make anti-Israel remarks, accusing the Jewish state of genocide. The group has made similar anti-Israel comments many times and continues to do so on social media.
“Israel is the most depraved regime on earth,” Kneecap wrote in a post on X on May 14. “They lie day after day and are starving an entire population to death, whilst a few miles away Israeli kids eat fast food … This is supported by Western governments and it’s unforgivable.”
On May 9, the band shared on X a picture of the message “Israel is committing a genocide” being projected on the former Israeli Embassy in Dublin. Kneecap said it projected the anti-Israel message on the embassy last November, before the embassy closed amid tensions between Dublin and Jerusalem over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
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Jordan and UAE Drop Aid Into Gaza in First Airdrop in Months, Jordanian Source Says
An airplane drops humanitarian aid over Gaza as seen from northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said.
The official said the air drops were not a substitute for delivery by land.
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Trump Says Israel Will Have to Decide on Next Steps in Gaza, Pledges More Aid
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas terrorist group.
Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue, and said the US would provide more aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
“They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas members were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.
Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave.
Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down,” telling reporters: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”
US TO PROVIDE MORE AID, TRUMP SAYS
Trump on Sunday said the US would provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where concerns are mounting about the worsening hunger, but wanted other countries to participate as well. He said he would discuss the issue with von der Leyen.
“We’re giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” he said. “If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well.”
He said he had spoken with Netanyahu and discussed a number of issues, including Iran. He said and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also discuss Israel when they meet at Trump’s golf property in Turnberry on Monday.
Trump also noted said the United States was not acknowledged for earlier food aid for Gaza.
“No other country gave anything,” he said, calling out European countries in particular. “It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything… Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
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Israel Announces Daily Pauses in Gaza Fighting as Aid Airdrops Begin
Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israel on Sunday announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into the enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world.
Israel has been facing growing international criticism, which the government rejects, over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have broken off with no deal in sight.
US President Donald Trump, on a visit to Scotland, said Israel would have to make a decision on its next steps in Gaza, and he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas.
Military activity will stop from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian area along the coast, in central Deir al-Balah and in Gaza City, to the north.
The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. starting from Sunday.
U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the fighting.
“Our teams on the ground … will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window,” he said on X.
In their first airdrop in months, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into Gaza on Sunday, a Jordanian official said, adding that those were not a substitute for delivery by land.
Palestinian health officials in Gaza City said at least 10 people were injured by falling aid boxes.
Work on a UAE project to run a new pipeline that will supply water from a desalination facility in neighboring Egypt to around 600,000 Gazans along the coast would also begin in a few days, the Israeli military said.
On Saturday, a five-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital, health workers said.
“Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead,” said her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, as the baby’s father held their daughter’s body wrapped in a white shroud.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying over 1,200 metric tons of food to southern Gaza on Sunday. Some had been looted in the area of Khan Younis after entering Gaza, residents said.
A group of 25 states including Britain, France and Canada last week said Israel’s denial of aid was unacceptable.
The military’s spokesperson said Israel was committed to international law and monitors the humanitarian situation daily. Brigadier General Effie Defrin said there was no starvation in Gaza, but appeared to acknowledge conditions were critical.
“When we start approaching a problematic line (threshold) then the IDF works to let in humanitarian aid,” he said. “That’s what happened over the weekend.”
Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds and reopened it with new restrictions in May.
It says it has been allowing in aid but must prevent it from being diverted by terrorists and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza’s people.
HOPE, UNCERTAINTY
Many Gazans expressed some relief at Sunday’s announcement, but said fighting must end.
“People are happy that large amounts of food aid will come into Gaza,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a business owner. “We hope today marks a first step in ending this war that burned everything up.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies whether it is fighting or negotiating a ceasefire and vowed to press on with the campaign until “complete victory.”
Hamas said Israel was continuing its military offensive.
“What is happening isn’t a humanitarian truce,” said Hamas official Ali Baraka.
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