Why is a senior terrorist’s grave located in an Israeli cemetery?

The Knesset House Committee will convene to discuss the removal of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam’s tomb, which is a pilgrimage site for extremist Arabs.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A Knesset committee will convene Tuesday to discuss the possibility of removing a top terrorist’s grave from its location on state-owned land, with right-wing lawmakers set to face off against security officials in the debate.

The tomb of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam is located in an Israeli Arab cemetery near the city of Nesher in the Haifa District, close to where he lived before being killed in a battle with British forces in 1935.

The grave is a pilgrimage site for extremist Arabs, as he is one of their most venerated terrorists, having been an important leader in the jihad against Jewish settlement in the land of Israel as well as against the British Mandate forces.

Hamas’ military wing is called the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in his honor.

Interviewed on Channel 14 Friday, newly appointed House Committee Chairman Yitzhak Kreuzer of Otzma Yehudit said,  “It was in his name that the brigades from the Gaza Strip invaded the State of Israel on Oct. 7, murdered, massacred and raped. The Qassam rockets are also named for him.”

“It’s clear to everyone that the tomb should be utterly destroyed and his body brought to the cemetery where we bury terrorists, to be used as a negotiating chip for the return of the hostages” held in Gaza, he said.

When the interviewer asked whether it would be a smart move at this time because it would “create another arena, against Israeli Arabs and cause upheaval in Haifa,” Kreuzer framed it as a matter of Israeli sovereignty.

“How can it be that in a sovereign state, the arch-terrorist in whose name” so many people were murdered “and who are the ones who are holding our brothers right now in the tunnels of the Gaza Strip can have his tomb become a site holy to his followers … and on state land, no less?” he asked rhetorically.

He added that the residents of the area also “suffer from the masses of terror supporters” who go there every few days to visit the small stone structure.

Security officials from the Defense Ministry and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), as well as Arab representatives from the Waqf (Islamic caretaker of religious sites) and the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Affairs, have all been invited to attend the hearing and air their views on the issue.

It is expected that most, if not all, of the speakers will be against Kreuzer’s proposal, based on security or religious grounds.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of Kreuzer’s party, is also expected to attend and support his colleague’s position.

HamasItamar Ben-GvirIzz ad-Din al-Qassam BrigadesKnessetNeshertomb