The Internal affairs and Environment Committee convened on Tuesday for a debate at the initiative of the committee chair, MK Yitzhak Kroizer (Otzma Yehudit), on the topic of delaying planning procedures in the city of Nesher due to the location of Izz al-Din al-Qassam’s grave.
Committee Chair MK Kroizer demanded that the mayor of Nesher and the representative of the Israel Land Authority (ILA) examine the area and their powers with regard to it, and examine the location of the tent at the site for the purpose of issuing an order for its removal. MK Kroizer also asked the police to examine the content of the sign standing at the site to ensure that this was not a case of incitement against the State of Israel’s citizens. “We’ll make sure that the land owners will be able to exercise their right to the land. The Israel Police should provide full security for development of northern Israel,” said MK Kroizer. The committee chair said further, “Regrettably, this arch-terrorist who is buried there within the State of Israel’s territory, on state land, has become a pilgrimage site for terrorist organizations and terrorist supporters. We will remove his grave and erase this moral and ethical blemish.”
After the open debate in the committee, a classified debate was held with the participation of officials from the Ministry of Defense and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), with the aim of discussing the possibility of removing the terrorist’s remains from the grave and using al-Qassam’s bones as a bargaining chip for the purpose of bringing back the hostages.
Minister of National Security MK Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) addressed Mayor of Nesher Roi Levi, saying, “I know how important this issue is to you and how dear it is to your heart. The Israel Police upholds the law. The problem is clear and it harms the city’s development. There is no discrimination on my watch, we demolish wherever there is a violation of the law. Together with the ILA, we will bring about the removal of the mass murderer’s grave. Terrorists and murderers will not convey messages here even after their death.”
MK Limor Sonn Har Melech (Otzma Yehudit): “The grave of this mass murderer lies in the heart of the State of Israel and his grave has become a pilgrimage site. This is a country that has been seized by madness, because such a thing would not exist in a country that wishes to live.” She called to use the removal of the grave as a bargaining chip for bringing back the hostages.
Mayor of Nesher Roi Levi explained, “The story of Izz al-Din al-Qassam’s grave in Nesher starts in the 1930s. This was a mass murderer who murdered Jews before the founding of the state. Our debate here is about two things—it is about the Muslim cemetery, and we will respect these graves and the sentiments of the other religions, and it is about the Waqf, which is trying to take control of areas that are not on the maps. Conversely, a mass murderer is buried there, and the cemetery sparked a huge struggle in the 1960s. In the end, the State of Israel gave in and built a bridge there over these graves. The capitulation did not start now, but rather in the 1990s.”
Levi said further, “There shouldn’t be a grave of a mass murderer in the city of Nesher, which has deep roots in Zionism and in the State of Israel. This grave should disappear from the city of Nesher. We are supposed to build a high school, for which we have already received authorization from the Ministry of Education; we have received land from the ILA and we are supposed to build a high school. The Waqf is opposed to the school’s construction and to the building permits we submitted, because there is an access road there and they decided that there are graves there. It should be clear what is ours and what is theirs, and what isn’t there should be marketed.”
Sami Asor, resident of Nesher and owner of the land in the northern section: “I own a lot, under private ownership, which I bought lawfully from the Israel Land Authority. I learned of the problem when I was told that the Waqf wants to take ownership of the land. I turned to all the court instances, and the court gave them an ultimatum in October 2020. We tried by all kinds of ways to exercise my right to build there, by means of the Israel Police and the Shin Bet. I brought a contractor and workers, and a commotion arose that I wasn’t afraid of, but I was asked to leave, although I thought I had the backing of the army and the Shin Bet. All I bought was a 10-dunam lot and I can’t move forward with its development. I want to exercise my right to build on my lot, which I bought 10 years ago. I am asking to fence off the area and the access road, and from there to continue with development of the land.”
Yoseph Haddad, CEO of Together—Vouch for Each Other, played an audio segment in Arabic and a statement by Izz al-Din al-Qassam saying that it was a jihad, either victory or a martyr’s death. “This is the history of the arch-terrorist who is buried in Nesher, in the State of Israel. This is the same person whom, 676 days ago, terrorists following his name and his image invaded the State of Israel and massacred, kidnapped and raped Israelis. They murdered Jews and Arabs and kidnapped Arabs and Jews in the name of Izz al-Din al-Qassam. […]”
Minister of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience MK Issac Wasserlauf (Otzma Yehudit): “This is an arch-terrorist who has brigades named after him, and in Nesher there is a pilgrimage site at his grave. I am willing to help with any issue.”
Tomer Friedman of the Israel Land Authority (ILA): “There is an approved plan for parcel 188—land for a metropolitan business park, by force of which development can be made. If the municipality wishes to develop the land, we in the ILA will take action to help. Regarding the private land, I presume that the Israel Police will do its job. If an order needs to be issued, we will also issue an order for dismantling the tent.” The mayor of Nesher said that he would be very glad for the ILA to market the land.
Ministry of Justice official Adv. Roslan Othman: “Those who enforce illegal construction are either the local committees or the National Unit for Enforcing Planning and Construction Laws, which is currently under the Ministry of National Security and carries out enforcement on the state level. Each case will be examined individually.”
Adv. Kfir Yaakov of the Ministry of Interior: “We have been asked to provide an opinion regarding the [Islamic] law issue of moving a grave. There are imams in the Ministry of Interior, but they are not qualified legal scholars. We will work to formulate a Muslim legal opinion, and will present it to the committee.”
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