Massive Attack: “Kneecap are not the story. Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story”

Massive Attack have issued a statement on the ongoing Kneecap controversy, stressing that “Gaza is the story” and “genocide is the story”.

Since Kneecap “blindsided” Coachella organisers with overtly political statements in support of Palestine, the band have found themselves the subject of attention from counter-terror police in the UK, who have said they are assessing two videos from the band’s gigs.

In one, footage appears to show a band member shouting “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah”, while another purportedly shows the group calling for the death of Conservative MPs. The band have since denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah and have denied promoting violence against MPs.

“Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history,” they said.

“We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.”

Nevertheless, Kneecap have faced numerous calls from politicians for the band to be removed from festival line-ups this summer, including Glastonbury and TRNSMT.

Now, Massive Attack, who themselves have been vocal in their support for Palestine for decades and have boycotted performing in Israel since 1999, have issued a statement supporting Kneecap and urging the focus to remain on what they call a “genocide” against the Palestinian people.

In a statement titled “Kneecap are not the story”, Massive Attack wrote: “If senior politicians can find neither the time, nor the words to condemn, say, the murder of fifteen voluntary aid workers in Gaza, or the illegal starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare, or the killing of thousands & thousands of children in the same territory, by a state in possession of the highest precision weapons on earth; how much notice should a music festival take of their moral advice on booking performing acts?”

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