UK counter-terrorism police are investigating the Northern Irish hip hop band, Kneecap, following a report to the police about the band by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) a month ago.

The band had waved and wrapped themselves in a Hezbollah flag during a concert at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town and led a chant of “Ooh Aah Hezbollah!”  This can be seen in a video of the incident, which took place on 21 November 2024.

Kneecap had previously posted on X on 8 October 2023, just one day after the horrendous massacre of Israelis the previous day “Solidarity with the Palestinian struggle”, along with a photo of the band, standing under a Palestinian flag.

When Kneecap played at the Coachella festival in the USA on 18 April 2025, they were reported to have whipped up anti-Israel hatred amongst the crowd. They showed large screens on stage, with the slogans“fuck Israel, free Palestine” and “free free Palestine”, and led the audience in anti-Israel chants.

This behaviour was particularly egregious at a music festival, given that hundreds of young Israelis had been brutally murdered, raped and tortured at a similar music festival on 7 October 2023.

UKLFI has also written to all the UK venues where Kneecap is due to perform over the summer, to warn them of the risks of allowing them to perform.  These include Glastonbury, the Green Man Festival in Wales, the Eden Project in Cornwall,  Finsbury Park and Brockwell Park, as well as Wythenshawe Park, Manchester.

A spokesperson for UKLFI said: “This band appears to enjoy courting controversy.  However, if this involves support for terrorists as well as whipping up anti-Israel hatred amongst its audience, then they should be aware that they are not above the law.”