Bono condemns Hamas and Benjamin Netanyahu at Ivors: “Stop the war”
U2 frontman Bono called for an end to the conflict in Gaza while criticising Hamas and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, while accepting his award at the Ivor Novello awards.
The U2 singer was at the ceremony in London on May 22nd to receive the award for ‘Fellowship of the Ivors Academy’, making his band the first Irish act to do so.
During the ceremony, U2 performed their classic 1983 anthem ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, while Bono also used the opportunity to call for peace.
He introduced the song on stage by saying: “Believing in the possibilities of peace was then, and is now, a rebellious act; and some would say a ridiculous one,” before adding, “Peace creates possibilities in the most intractable situations, and Lord knows there’s a few of them out there right now.”
Bono then went on to address the Israel-Palestine conflict directly, saying: “Hamas release the hostages. Stop the war. Israel be released from Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right fundamentalists that twist your sacred texts. All of you protect our aid workers, they are the best of us.”
The singer has been a proud activist of various political and societal issues over the course of his entire career, notably using the song ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ to call out the massacre in Ireland in 1972, where the British army shot and killed 14 people.
However, this was the first time he had spoken publicly on the Israel-Palestine conflict, adding his voice to ever-growing calls for Israel to stop the war and allow humanitarian aid to be brought into Gaza.
Elsewhere during the Ivor Novello awards, a range of other artists were honoured alongside U2 for their contributions to music, including Charli XCX, Lola Young, and The Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers.
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