Beirut: Lebanon’s resistance organization Hezbollah has elected acting leader Naim Qasim as its leader after the death of Hassan Nasrallah. He was previously the Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah issued a written statement saying its Shura Council had unanimously elected Qasim (71) as its new head. Naeem Qasim was appointed deputy head of Hezbollah in 1991. After Nasrallah was elected head of Hezbollah, Naeem continued to serve as deputy head.
Hezbollah said in a statement that Qasim was chosen because of his zeal to follow the organization’s principles and objectives. Naeem is generally regarded as the number two leader in Hezbollah. He was also among those who founded Hezbollah in the early 1980s.
It is worth noting that Naeem Qasim was Hassan Nasrallah’s deputy for a long time and was made acting head of the organization after Hassan Nasrallah’s death, while he was previously a three-time member of the Hezbollah Shura Committee.
After Hassan Nasrallah’s death, his cousin and son-in-law Hashim Safiuddin were most likely to be elected as the head of Hezbollah, but Safiuddin was also killed in an Israeli attack a few days ago.
It should be noted that Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time secretary general and head of Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli attack last month.
Who is Sheikh Naeem Qasim?
Sheikh Naeem Qasim is regarded as one of the senior and experienced leaders of Hezbollah. He was born in the town of Kafr Fila in southern Lebanon and pursued a degree in chemistry at the University of Lebanon, after which he spent a long time in the field of education. Simultaneously, he continued his religious studies and was involved in organizing Muslim students.
In 1970, he became part of Imam Musa Sadr’s Amal Movement, but he separated from the Amal Movement in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution, which became a catalyst for changing the political thinking of Lebanese youth.
When Hezbollah was established in 1982 in response to Israeli oppression, he became part of it. Since 1991, he has served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the organization, having also served as the deputy to Abbas Musawi before Hassan Nasrallah, who was martyred in an Israeli helicopter attack in 1992.
It is noteworthy that Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was martyred on September 27 of last month in an Israeli airstrike on a building in Beirut, along with his daughter Zainab Nasrallah and several companions.
Hezbollah has stated that the fight against Israel will continue in support of Gaza and Palestine, and the battle against Israel will persist in defense of Lebanon and its esteemed people.
