TEHRAN — General Esmail Ghaani has said his IRGC Quds Force will stand by the Palestinian resistance movement the same way that martyr Qassem Soleimani did.  

General Ghaani, who took over as the new commander of the Quds Force after the assassination of General Soleimani by the U.S. in early January, made the remarks in a ceremony held to commemorate the memory of Ramadan Abdullah Mohammed Shallah, the former secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement.  

“I offer my heartfelt condolences on the loss of Dr. Ramadan Abdullah Mohammed Shallah, the former secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement who bravely sacrificed his life on the path of struggle and perseverance in the field of resistance and freedom of Palestine and Al-Quds and pray from the Almighty God to bestow forbearance to his bereaved family for this irreparable loss,” Ghaani said.

“Dr. Ramazan Abdullah Shallah stood bravely against all the deviations brought about by the enemy on the path of struggle and freedom of Palestinian lands,” he noted, according to Mehr.

“We also make sure that we remain with you and all Palestinians like martyr Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and will always take the path of strengthening the Axis of Resistance,” Ghaani added.

Shallah died on 6 June 2020 in Lebanon after a long illness that included two years in a coma. His funeral was held in Damascus and was attended by, among others the head of the PJI movement who replaced him, Ziyad al-Nakhalah.

Shallah, who was born in Gaza, had led Palestinian Islamic Jihad from 1995 until 2018 after the assassination of his predecessor, Fathi Al Shkaki.

He was also on the most wanted list of Israel and the U.S. with a reward offered for information leading to his arrest or conviction. The journey of Ramadan Shallah came to an end, with many sources attributing his deteriorating health to natural causes, whilst the Palestinian Authority embassy in Beirut believed there is a possibility he might have been poisoned.

MH/PA