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“Advocating for political violence, glorifying terrorist organizations and displaying hate symbols that directly target the Jewish community are not protected forms of expression and will not be tolerated by our government,” said Vince Gasparro, theÌýEglinton—Lawrence MP and parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state on combating crime, as he announced the ban in a social media post.Ìý

Kneecap, a , has attracted high-profile controversy and has been branded as antisemitic in recent monthsÌý— first for accusing Israel of genocide in its war in Gaza, a claim the International Court of Justice is probing, and then for past statements at concerts shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah,” and claiming “the only good Tory is a dead Tory.” In May, band member Mo Chara was by U.K. police for allegedly displaying the flag of Hezbollah at a London show.ÌýHe has not been proven guilty in court and theÌýgroup has denied supporting Hamas or Hezbollah.

The ban was immediately celebrated by some Jewish and pro-Israel groups who had pushed for it, which Kneecap said was based on misinformation. In a statement, the group said they had co-operated with immigration authorities and accused Gasparro of “maliciously” misrepresenting them and said they would seek legal action against him.

“We will be relentless in defending ourselves against baseless accusations to silence our opposition to a genocide being committed by Israel,” the group said. “When we beat you in court, which we will, we will donate every cent to assist some of the thousands of child amputees in Gaza.”

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