Kneecap’s Móglaí Bap leads “free Palestine” chant during surprise appearance at Féile an Phobail

Kneecap’s Móglaí Bap leads “free Palestine” chant during surprise appearance at Féile an Phobail

Kneecap‘s Móglái Bap made a surprise appearance at the Féile an Phobail festival in Belfast last night (August 10).

The rapper joined The Irish Brigade and Shebeen onstage at Falls Park to perform his band’s track ‘C.E.A.R.T.A.’. You can view footage below.

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Following his appearance, he said to the crowd: “Big love for the Irish Brigade. Big respect to Féile an Phobail, big respect to the people of West Belfast. Big respect to all the Fenians who stand behind Kneecap. Big respect to all the people who stand behind Palestine.

“Big respect to the people of west Belfast who are always on the right side of history. Free Palestine.”

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The appearance came after Kneecap criticised the Norwegian government during their set at Øyafestivalen in Oslo last Friday (August 8).

The Irish rap trio displayed a message on the video screen that accused the Norwegian government of “enabling” the “genocide” in Gaza through the country’s “oil pension fund”. Kneecap were referring to the Government Pension Fund of Norway, which invests surplus revenues from the country’s petroleum industry and has more than £1.4trillion in assets.

The government has since launched a review of the fund to ensure that it is not investing in Israeli companies contributing to the war in Gaza. Norway has also recognised Palestine as a state.

Kneecap have consistently said – including at festivals Coachella and Glastonbury – that Israel is committing a “genocide” in Gaza, and have denied accusations of anti-Semitism, claiming that those attacking the band “weaponise” the false accusation to “distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide.”

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The band have also found themselves making headlines after footage emerged of member Mo Chara allegedly shouting “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah” and displaying a Hezbollah flag on stage. Chara has since appeared in court and been granted unconditional bail; he is due to appear in court again on August 20.

Israel has rejected accusations of genocide and denies committing any war crimes, maintaining that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence, claims Kneecap have vocally rebuked.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to take full military control of Gaza insisting it was the “best way” to end the war, reports BBC News. 

The United Nations (UN) Security Council, has condemned Israel’s plans and called for them to be reversed.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 61,158 Palestinians have been killed since the October 7 attack in 2023.

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