Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has renewed his threat to demolish the tomb of Sheikh Izz al Din al Qassam in the town of Sheikh near the city of Haifa in northern occupied Palestine.
On Thursday, Ben Gvir published a video on his Telegram account in which he reiterated the threat while overseeing the removal of a tent erected by the Islamic Waqf Committee near the shrine of Izz al Din al Qassam.
Ben Gvir said, “This is our land, the land of the State of Israel. This is an initial and significant step toward removing the inciting spectacle known as the tomb of Izz al Din al Qassam”, as he described it. He added, “This is practically the imposition of control and order, and I am proud of the work carried out by the law enforcement authority”.
In another post attached to the video on the X platform, Ben Gvir said, “The tomb of the prominent terrorist Izz al Din al Qassam must be demolished”, as he claimed, adding, “We took the first step yesterday morning”, referring to the removal of the tent.
For its part, the Hamas movement strongly condemned Ben Gvir’s threat to demolish the tomb of Sheikh Izz al Din al Qassam, describing it as “an unprecedented violation of the sanctity of the dead and a blatant desecration of holy sites”.
In a statement issued Thursday, Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said that Ben Gvir had crossed all red lines by declaring the “first step” toward removing the tomb. He added that this behaviour reveals the moral decline to which the occupation has sunk, reflecting a vengeful mindset that does not hesitate to tamper even with the graves of the deceased and the symbols of the nation.
Ben Gvir has repeatedly called for the demolition of the tomb of Sheikh Izz al Din al Qassam, located in an Islamic cemetery built on the land of the depopulated village of Sheikh.
Al Qassam, born in 1883 in the coastal Syrian town of Jableh, is regarded as a prominent figure in the Islamic world and in the history of Palestinian resistance.
He led armed resistance against the French occupation in Syria and against the British occupation in Palestine in the early twentieth century.
He was martyred in 1935 in a confrontation with British forces near the city of Jenin in northern occupied West Bank. His martyrdom had a profound impact, contributing significantly to the outbreak of the Great Palestinian Revolt of 1936. In honour of his legacy and in recognition of his struggle against colonialism, the Hamas movement in Palestine named its military wing after him, known today as the Izz al Din al Qassam Brigades.
