The Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah announced on Tuesday the appointment of Naim Qassem, 71, as its new leader, following the death of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike last month.
Qassem, who for many years was Nasrallah’s deputy, has been the group’s acting leader since Nasrallah’s assassination.
In a statement issued by the leadership of the terrorist group, it was stated that “in accordance with the approved mechanism for the election of the secretary general, the Shura Council of Hezbollah agreed to elect His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem as secretary general of Hezbollah. carrying the blessed banner on this journey, asking Almighty God to guide him in this noble mission at the head of Hezbollah and its Islamic resistance.”
In the note, the armed formation promised that with the appointment of Qassem “they will work together to achieve the principles of Hezbollah and the goals of its path, and keep the flame of resistance shining and its banner high until victory is achieved.” .
It should be noted that Qassem wears a white turban unlike Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, whose black turbans denoted their status as descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
After a little more than a month after Nasrallah was killed, the group has decided to elect the man who was the number two in the formation and who was in charge of giving the three television speeches offered after the death of the previous head of Hezbollah, who served three decades in charge.
This decision was made after last week Hezbollah confirmed the death of Hashem Safi al Din, head of the formation’s Executive Council and considered one of the main candidates to succeed cleric Nasrallah.
Qassem, whose location is unknown, was appointed deputy head of Hezbollah in 1991 by the armed group’s then-secretary general, Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack the following year.
Qassem remained in his position when Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah became leader.
He was born in Beirut in 1953, into a family from the town of Kfar Fila, on the border with Israel. Naim Qassem’s political activism began with the Lebanese Shiite Amal Movement. He left the group in 1979 in the wake of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Additionally, he participated in the meetings that led to the formation of Hezbollah, established with the backing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
He was the group’s most senior leader to continue appearing in public since Nasrallah went into hiding for the most part after Hezbollah’s 2006 war against Israel.
He has been considered one of the main spokespersons for the Shiite group and the highest-level figure who has even given interviews to foreign media.
In September, Qassem spoke at the funeral of senior Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Aqil and Hezbollah member Mahmoud Hamad, who were killed in an Israeli strike. Qassem said the group has entered a new phase in its battle with Israel, which he described as an “open battle of reckoning.”
Additionally, he participated in the meetings that led to the formation of Hezbollah, established with the backing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
He was the group’s most senior leader to continue appearing in public since Nasrallah began spending his most time in hiding after Hezbollah’s 2006 war against Israel.
He has been considered one of the main spokespersons for the Shiite group and the highest-level figure who has even given interviews to foreign media.
In September, Qassem spoke at the funeral of senior Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Aqil and Hezbollah member Mahmoud Hamad, who were killed in an Israeli strike. Qassem said the group has entered a new phase in its battle with Israel, which he described as an “open battle of reckoning.”
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