The Palestinian Islamic Jihad buried its former leader Ramadan Shalah in Syria on Sunday, a day after he died in hospital in neighboring Lebanon following a struggle with an unknown illness.
Shalah, who was 62 years old, led the Iran-backed terrorist group from 1995 until 2018. The United States first put Shalah on its terrorism blacklist in 1995. In 2006, the FBI listed him among its "most wanted terrorists," offering $5 million for information leading to his apprehension.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he was "deeply affected" by the loss of Shalah following "a life spent fighting for the holy Palestinian cause" and Jerusalem.
In a message from his office to "the brave Palestinians," Zarif hailed Shalah as a "pragmatic, intellectual, serious and intelligent person" who sought "unity between people from different backgrounds, between Palestinian groups and within the Muslim world."
Dozens of mourners gathered on Sunday around his coffin draped in the group's banner in Damascus, having received special permission to gather despite the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
A funeral procession then headed to a cemetery in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp on the edge of the capital.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted PA President Mahmoud Abbas as saying the Palestinian people had "lost a great national figure."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
