Sheikh Naim Qassem appointed as new head of Hezbollah

BEIRUT, Oct 29 (SABAH): Lebanon’s resistance organization Hezbollah has appointed 71-year-old Sheikh Naim Qassem as its new leader after the martyrdom of two of its leading leaders by Israel in one month.

According to international media reports, Naim Qassem is one of the founding members of Hezbollah and was acting as the acting head of Hezbollah after the martyrdom of Hassan Nasrallah.

According to Iran’s Press TV, Hezbollah’s Shura Council on Tuesday appointed Sheikh Naim Qassem as its new head to replace Hassan Nasrallah, who was martyred in an Israeli attack last month. Sheikh Naim Qassem was previously performing the duties of Deputy Secretary General.

The Shura Council has said in its statement that it has elected Sheikh Naim Qassem while following the principles and objectives of the Hezbollah. May Allah Almighty give success to the leadership of Hezbollah and its noble mission of Islamic resistance.

The statement pledges to the martyrs, Islamic resistance fighters and steadfast Lebanese people that Hezbollah will remain steadfast on its principles, goals and path to keep the flame of resistance alive until final victory.

Sheikh Naim Qassem considered among the senior and experienced leaders of Hezbollah, was born in the town of Kfar Fila in southern Lebanon and studied chemistry at the University of Lebanon for a long time in the field of teaching. He also continued to pursue religious education and was also part of the formation of a union for Muslim students.

It is worth mentioning here that he has replaced Hassan Nasrallah. Hassan Nasrallah was martyred in Beirut in late September by an Israeli strike. Many other senior Hezbollah officials have also been targeted since Israel turned its focus on the group that month.

In a statement, Hezbollah said Qassem was elected to take up the position due to his adherence to the principles and goals of Hezbollah. It added that the group would pray Allah Almighty to guide him in this noble mission in leading Hezbollah and its Islamic resistance.

The killing of Nasrallah, who embodied the Lebanese Shia movement in the eyes of its supporters and the wider region, was seen as having left a vacuum inside a group that had already lost much of its leadership as a result of months of Israeli assassinations.

Nasrallah’s cousin Hashem Safieddine was previously viewed as the favourite to take the helm of the Iran-linked Hezbollah, but he died in an Israeli strike on Beirut shortly after his relative.

The 71-year-old Qassem has often been referred to as Hezbollah’s number two. He is one of the religious scholars who founded the group in the early 1980s and has a long history in Shia political activism.

He was the most senior Hezbollah official to continue making public appearances after Nasrallah largely went into hiding following the group’s 2006 war with Israel.