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Kneecap gather outside court to urge supporters to keep focus on Palestine

Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has appeared in court. Hundreds of supporters greeted the band, as they emerged after a three hour hearing. Ó hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag that made reference to proscribed organisation, Hezbollah. However, Ó hAnnaidh has maintained that the criminal case levied against him is not the story: Palestine is.

Kneecap call for shift in focus

On social media, Kneecap called out the British government for aiding in an genocide, and insisted that Palestine is still the real story:

When addressing the crowd, Mo Chara said:

We know, unfortunately, this story will end up in the media today while Israel commits genocide at the same time. We need to speak about Palestine.

Artist Maverick Sabre was amongst the crowd supporting the band outside court and said:

I don’t think we can wait for a music industry to stand up and wait for validation and a pat on the back from them…I think we need to come together as a community of artists and maybe spur on bigger artists that have remained silent.

The Palestine Media Organisation pointed out the depravity of the government pursuing this charge against Kneecap, but not stopping the genocide:

An art installation outside the Magistrates Court made the point quite succinctly:

MP John Finucane insisted that the British establishment will not silence Irish people:

As they have for other court appearances, Kneecap insisted on an Irish language interpreter:

Accountability

Three months after Mo Chara was charged with offences of terrorism, the British government is not only staying silent about Israel’s genocide in Palestine, they’re actively assisting it. In spite of the government’s own suspension of certain arms export licenses, British firms have exported thousands of military items to Israel. Such is the uncertainty around exactly how much Britain is aiding Israel, that MP John McDonnell said:

The government has shrouded its arms supplies to Israel in secrecy. They must finally come clean in response to this extremely concerning evidence and halt all British arms exports to Israel to ensure no British-made weapons are used in Netanyahu’s new and terrifying plans to annex the Gaza Strip and ethnically cleanse the land.

However, the exact details of Britain’s involvement remain hidden by the government. On the other hand, the amount of time and attention to be afforded to a rap group holding a flag at a gig is apparently endless. The Palestine Action debacle is evidently calling into question the effectiveness of proscription laws. Clearly, there is no red line for the British government when it comes to Israel and the Zionist state’s impunity for genocide. But, when it comes to pensioners protesting a genocide or a rap group holding up a flag – causing no harm or terror to anyone – apparently that’s the red line.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Reuters

By Maryam Jameela

This post was originally published on Canary.