Iranian President Offers Condolences on Death of Former PIJ Chief

In the message released on Sunday, President Rouhani paid tribute to the deceased for his lifetime devotion to the struggle with the Israeli regime.

What follows is the text of the president’s message:

“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

The ones who have believed, emigrated and striven in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives are greater in rank in the sight of Allah . And it is those who are the attainers [of success]. [At-Tawbah: 20]

The grief at the passing away of the combatant of the path of freedom and the former secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, Dr. Ramadan Abdullah, was greatly saddening.

The virtuous and hard-working devotee and intellectual in the arena of the fight against the usurper Zionist regime devoted his entire fruitful life to supporting and defending the cause of the oppressed people of Palestine and laid the foundation for lasting services in the history of that country’s struggles, which will glow like a beacon for the future generations in the arena of jihad and resistance.

I offer condolences to the noble Palestinian nation, the comrades, all jihadi Palestinian groups in that country and the honorable family of the deceased on the grief, and pray to Almighty God for the highest position for him (Abdullah) and his companionship with the martyrs of Palestine, and pray for patience and health for all relatives.”

The former head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement died at age 62 in a hospital where he was receiving medical treatment.

Shalah was born in Gaza in 1958 and became the head of the movement in 1995 after the assassination of Fathi Shaqaqi.

Ziad al-Nakhala was chosen to lead the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in 2018 because of Shalah’s illness.