DaysofPal – The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) strongly condemned the threat issued by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to demolish the grave of Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam in thedepopulated village of Sheikh (Tel Hanan) east of Haifa, describing the threat as “an unprecedented assault on the sanctity of the dead and a blatant violation of sacred sites.”
In a statement released on Thursday, Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said that Ben-Gvir had crossed all red lines by announcing that he had taken “the first step” toward removing the grave.
Mardawi said this behavior reveals “the extent of the moral decline reached by the occupation and a vindictive mindset that does not hesitate to tamper even with the graves of the dead and the symbols of the nation.”
Mardawi added, “Targeting the grave of Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam, a revolutionary symbol across generations, is not merely an attack on a stone or a burial site, but a desperate attempt to erase our people’s memory and eliminate one of the most prominent landmarks of their century-long struggle against colonialism and occupation.”
Hamas concluded its statement by calling on the international community and human rights and religious institutions to take “a firm stance to deter this fascist savagery, which has become official policy in the occupation government.”
On Thursday, Ben-Gvir posted a video to his Telegram channel showing himself personally supervising the removal of a tent erected by the Islamic Waqf Committee beside the shrine.
He declared, “This is our land and the land of Israel… this is the first and important step to end the inciting spectacle known as the grave of Izz al-Din al-Qassam.”
Israeli police also removed the historical information sign for the cemetery and dismantled its solar-power unit, justifying the action as the implementation of a demolition order, part of a broader effort by Israeli authorities to eliminate what remains of the cemetery’s grounds.
Officials in Israel’s current far-right government had previously threatened to remove the grave of Sheikh al-Qassam, who was buried in this cemetery before the Nakba.
Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam (1882–1935) led the armed struggle against French colonial rule in Syria and later against the British Mandate in Palestine.
He was killed in 1935 during the Battle of Ya‘bad near Jenin, a moment that helped ignite the 1936–1939 Palestinian Great Revolt months later. His legacy became an enduring symbol of resistance, and Hamas named its military wing, the “Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades,” in his honor.
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