iz al-Din Al-Qassem

iz al-Din Al-Qassem (?-1935), Syrian-born Palestinian sheikh and cleric, and the first Palestinian guerrilla leader. His early stand against British policy in Palestine and his commitment to armed struggle deeply influenced later Palestinian leaders. Born in Syria, but later based in Haifa, Al-Qassem organized militant resistance to Jewish immigration as early as 1931. His belief that British policy on this issue was working strongly against the interests of Palestinians spurred him on to preach jihad against the Jews, whom he saw as a threat to Palestinian rights, and the British, who were allowing them to enter the country.

In 1933 he won support from the Arab Executive Committee for an organized demonstration against Jewish immigration. Following the suppression of the march by armed British soldiers and police, terrorism increased and in 1935 Al-Qassem's band of guerrillas was trapped on Mount Gilboa and wiped out by British forces. Today considered one of the first martyrs to the Palestinian cause, he inspired later leaders such as Yasir Arafat. The armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, is named after him.