On Passing of Ramadan Abdullah Shallah

Leader: Resistance Lost a Very Valuable Element

Date: 08 June 2020 - 21:48

News ID: ۷۹۳۷۰

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday offered condolences over the passing of former leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement Ramadan Abdullah Shallah.
"I extend my condolences on the passing away of Dr Ramadan Abdullah to the dear Palestinian nation and all fighters whose hearts are with the Palestinian issue, especially the self-sacrificing ‘Islamic Jihad movement of Palestine’ and also the family of this blessed departed,” the Leader said.
"The Palestinian resistance lost a very valuable element. I hope that with the guidance and help of God, the Jihadi efforts of the worthy successors who follow the path of such Mujahideen as Fathi Shaqaqi and Ramadan Abdullah will make up for this loss,” he added.
Shallah, who served as secretary general of the resistance group from 1995 to 2018, passed away at the age of 62 on Saturday night.
He had been in a coma for more than three years. In April 2018, Shallah suffered several heart attacks and was transferred from the Syrian capital, Damascus, where he was based, to Beirut for surgery. He failed to regain consciousness.
Shallah was born in Gaza in 1958 and studied in Egypt before earning a PhD in economics in the United Kingdom.
He led the Islamic Jihad movement for more than 20 years, after its founder, Fathi Shaqaqi, was assassinated in Malta in 1995 in an attack widely attributed to the occupying regime of Israel.

In 2018, Shallah’s deputy Ziad al-Nakhalah was named as the new leader of the movement, which was founded in 1981 to realize the Palestinian cause of establishing an independent state.
Alongside the Hamas resistance movement, a Gaza-based ally, the Islamic Jihad has defended Palestinians against the Zionist regime during three deadly wars since 2008.

Leader Praises Crew of Iranian Oil Tankers

Separately, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a message praising the efforts of the crew and captains of the tankers that took Iran’s fuel to Venezuela despite threats by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to take action against them.
"I thank all of you dear ones, captains and crew of the ship. You did a great job. Your move was a great feat. You made the country proud,” the Leader’s message read.
Iran sent five ships -- Fortune, Forest, Petunia, Faxon and Clavel -- carrying fuel to Venezuela in May and June to help revive oil refineries in the South American country, which is suffering from a severe fuel shortage caused by U.S. sanctions.
The shipments have drawn the ire of the U.S., which has imposed draconian sanctions on Iran and Venezuela with the aim of crippling their oil sectors.
U.S. officials said Washington was considering a response to Iran’s move, prompting Tehran to warn of retaliatory measures if Washington causes any problem for the Venezuela-bound tankers.