U2 issue statement on Gaza: 'The band is pledged to contribute our support by donating to Medical Aid For Palestinians'
In a post on social media yesterday, all four members of U2 issued statements explaining their stances on the devastation in Gaza.
The statements were prefaced in the caption, which read, 'We are not experts in the politics of the region, but we want our audience to know where we each stand.'
The band also announced that they would be donating to UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Bono wrote the lengthiest statement, in which he admitted that he 'circled the subject' of Gaza. He said the October 7 attack 'felt like it happened while U2 were on stage at Sphere Las Vegas' and ever since, he has 'generally tried to stay out of the politics of the Middle East.'
'This was not humility, more uncertainty in the face of obvious complexity,' Bono wrote, adding that images of malnourished Palestinian children reminded him of a 1985 trip he took with his wife to a food station in Ethiopia following Live Aid.
'Another man-made famine. To witness chronic malnutrition up close would make it personal for any family, especially as it affects children. Because when the loss of non-combatant life en masse appears so calculated… especially the deaths of children, then 'evil' is not a hyperbolic adjective.'
Bono went on to describe Hamas's attack on the Nova music festival as 'evil', adding that in the following months, 'Israel's revenge for the Hamas attack appeared more and more disproportionate and disinterested in the equally innocent civilian lives in Gaza.'
He also acknowledged that 'Hamas are not the Palestinian people' and that 'the Government of Israel is not the nation of Israel' but condemned the government under Benjamin Netanyahu. He called the weaponisation of starvation by both Hamas and Israel a 'moral failure.'
'[Palestinians are] a people who have for decades endured and continue to endure marginalisation, oppression, occupation, and the systematic stealing of the land that is rightfully theirs,' Bono wrote.
'Given our own historic experience of oppression and occupation, it's little wonder so many here in Ireland have campaigned for decades for justice for the Palestinian people.'
Bono went on to reiterate his belief in Israel's 'right to exist' and a two-state solution.
Other members of the band expressed similar beliefs. The Edge addressed Netanyahu directly in his statement, 'in hopes of engaging his consciousness and the sanity of the people of Israel.'
'What we are witnessing is not a distant tragedy—it is a test of our shared humanity,' the Edge wrote.
He asked if the Israeli prime minister believes Israel's attacks on civilians in Gaza can happen without placing 'generational shame' upon Israel, and how 'ethnic cleansing' of Palestinians could possibly make the Israeli people safer.
'Injustice, as we learned in Ireland, is never the pass to security: it breeds resentment, it hardens hearts, and it guarantees that future generations will inherit conflict rather than peace.'
He asked Netanyahu what his 'political vision' is, if not the two-state solution, and demanded a peace process be prioritised.
Adam Clayton emphasised the preservation of civilian life, while Larry Mullen condemned the lack of opposition from within Israel for the 'unexpected' escalation of Israel's attacks. View this post on Instagram
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