Deputy secretary general Naim Qassem (pictured) was today elected and named the leader of the terror group, one month after the former chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike. But Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, in charge of the IDF, today said as he shared a photo of Qassem: 'Temporary appointment. Not for long.' It comes just weeks after the Shia cleric delivered a ranting 19-minute speech in the wake of Nasrallah's assassination, vowing that Hezbollah would continue fighting a 'long battle' with Israel.
Qassem's accession marks the first time Hezbollah has had a new leader since February 1992 when Shia cleric Nasrallah took power and oversaw the group in its transition from a militant force into a political party and regional powerhouse.
Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah's executive council, was initially tipped to succeed Nasrallah. But he too was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs shortly after Nasrallah's assassination.
Another Shia cleric, 71-year-old Qassem has been a fixture in the upper echelon of the political and militant group for more than 30 years. But his accession to the position of secretary general sees him inherit a sorry state of affairs, with Hezbollah engaged in bitter fighting with IDF troops in southern Lebanon while Israel's Air Force (IAF) continues to batter the capital Beirut with incessant bombing raids. Qassem, a member of the Hezbollah's governing Shura Council, had long operated in the shadow of Nasrallah, a towering leader who was one of the most enigmatic and influential figures in the Middle East.
Hezbollah said Qassem was elected by the Shura Council as it pledged to keep 'the flame of resistance burning' until victory is achieved against Israel.
He was born in Beirut in 1953 to a family from the village of Kfar Fila on the border with Israel and taught chemistry in Lebanon before turning to politics.
His political career began with the Amal Movement but left that group in 1979 on the heels of the Islamic revolution in Iran which was a precursor to the formation of Hezbollah. He was among the group's founding members in 1982, and was a appointed deputy chief in 1991 by the group's then-secretary general, Abbas al-Musawi. Qassem retained the position when al-Musawi was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack months later and became one of Hezbollah's leading spokesmen after Nasrallah replaced al-Musawi as secretary general.
2 comments:
As Max said, if only he would use his badness for good.
As Max said, if only he would use his badness for good.
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