The 9th of November marks the 83rd anniversary of the martyrdom of Izz al-Din Al-Qassam who was killed in 1935 by the British occupation forces in Palestine.
Al-Qassam is a scholar preacher a fighter and a distinguished leader. His name is still repeated in every round of fighting between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli enemy.
Al-Qassam was born in the town of Jibla in the Syrian city of Latakia in 1883 and went to Al-Azhar in Cairo at the age of fourteen. He graduated in 1906 and returned to his country to work as a teacher and a preacher.
The Syrian preacher along with his students revolted against the French. They tried to kill him but he escaped and went to Damascus. He then left for Haifa in Palestine which was under the British rule where he was in charge of public speaking and taught at the Al-Istiqlal Mosque there.
He joined the Association of Muslim Youth in Haifa in 1926 and was elected as its president. His association with this association was a cover for his underground activities and his preparation for the revolution as a central goal.
The Al-Qassam League did not accept any member except after a long process of filtering and they only chose those who were “ready to sacrifice for the sake of their country.”
According to historians Al-Qassam “worked on psychological preparation before the announcement of the revolution and spread the spirit of the revolution on a large scale and his weapon was his knowledge and sincerity.”
Al-Qassam League
At the mosque he incited people to revolt against the British colonization until he succeeded in forming a fighters group called ‘Al-Qassam League’ prompting the British to chase him. He moved to the Palestinian countryside where he settled in the forests of Yabad village in Jenin governorate.
He fought several battles with the British colonizers and was able to inflict painful blows to his enemy. Yet he was chased by the British forces until they were able to besiege him along with some of his fighters.
The martyrdom of honor
In Khirbet Sheikh Zaid near the village of Yabad the siege intensified on the fighters until the British thought they were killed. The English officer who besieged them said: “Surrender and you will survive.” Izz al-Din Al-Qassam replied: “We will not surrender it is victory or martyrdom.” He told his fighters “Die as martyrs.” They shouted together: “God is Great God is great and fought until the last bullet.”
They fought a fierce battle that lasted six hours killing 15 British soldiers. The battle resulted in the martyrdom of Izz al-Din Al-Qassam and three of his fighters.
Al-Qassam was killed standing just like the rest of the honorable martyrs with both his enemies and friends expressing respect for his courage including the British officer who killed him who gave him a military salute.
As a result the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched its military wing naming it the Izz al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades which is advancing day after day in its military performance and its qualitative operations most recently leading the last round of escalation that ended with the overthrow of the Israeli war minister Avigdor Lieberman.
