Basem Naim

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Basem Naim
باسم نعيم
Health Minister in the Gaza Strip
In office
2007–2012

Basem Naim (Arabic : باسم نعيم, romanized: Bāsim Naʿīm; born 1963) is a Palestinian physician, politician, and Hamas official. Naim served as Minister of Health in the First Haniyeh Government; then, as Minister of Youth and Sports in the Palestinian National Unity Government of March 2007. He resides in Istanbul, Turkey.

Minister of Health

Following the election victory by Hamas, Naim, who holds a degree in medicine from Germany and a PhD in surgery, [1] [2] was named Minister of Health in 2007. As minister, Naim replaced Fatah-affiliated hospital directors and medical staff with Hamas-aligned individuals. One affected professional, Jomaa Alsaqqa, a 20-year surgeon at al-Shifa Hospital, was terminated for his Fatah support. He claims to have been arrested and assaulted by Hamas. [3]

He stepped down in 2012 and became the head of the Council on International Relations in Gaza. [1]

Gaza war

In October 2023, while acting as Hamas's representative in Moscow, Basem participated in a delegation led by senior Hamas member Mousa Abu Marzook, holding talks on foreign hostages in Gaza. [4] [5]

In an interview with Sky News, following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Naim said that Hamas did not kill civilians. [6] [7] Likewise in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia , Naim repeated that Hamas fighters haven't committed any crimes. [8] In both cases, interviewers confronted Naim with evidence that hundreds of civilians had been killed in the October 7 attack.

In another interview with Sky News on 16 October, Naim reiterated the claim that no Israeli civilians were killed and shared that the status of the 199 civilians held hostage remains uncertain. He emphasized the difficulty of ascertaining their well-being due to the intense bombardment in Gaza. Naim further stated, "We have communicated to all intermediaries our willingness to release all civilian hostages once the aggression against our people ceases". [9]

Opinions

He criticised the United States' role in the war, saying: "While these crimes have been committed with Israeli hands, they were sponsored and backed up by the US administration". [10]

Naim had a large following on social media where he often posted anti-Israel and pro-BDS messages. [11] Naim has condemned terror attacks against Jews that occurred in the United States [12] and Germany [11] several times.

References

  1. 1 2 IBP USA. Palestine Business Intelligence Report Volume 1 Strategic and Practical Information. Lulu.com. pp. 24–. ISBN   978-1-4387-3748-5.
  2. ↑ Seurat, Leila (24 February 2022). The Foreign Policy of Hamas: Ideology, Decision Making and Political Supremacy. Translated by Makinson, Martin (1st ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 249. ISBN   9781838607449.
  3. ↑ Merav, Sarig (3 November 2007). "Striking medics in Gaza temporarily return to work after talks with Hamas". BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.). 335 (7626): 904–905. doi:10.1136/bmj.39384.458935.DB. PMC   2048866 . PMID   17974666.
  4. ↑ Paccchiani, Gianluca (26 October 2023). "Moscow hosts Hamas delegation and Iran's deputy FM, prompting Israeli outrage". Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Roth, Andrew (26 October 2023). "Hamas delegation travels to Moscow for talks on foreign hostages in Gaza". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "October 12, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news". CNN. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "Hamas official: 'We have not killed any civilians'" (video). youtube.com. Sky News. 10 October 2023. See video between 2:00 and 3:00
  8. ↑ ""Our fighters haven't committed any crimes": Hamas leader Dr Basem Naim - 60 Minutes Australia". YouTube . 60 Minutes Australia.
  9. ↑ Austin, Mark (16 October 2023). "Israel-Hamas war: Hamas official 'doesn't know' if hostages are alive". YouTube . Sky News.
  10. ↑ "Biden administration bypasses Congress on weapons sales to Israel". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  11. 1 2 Ynet (11 October 2019). "In rare move, Hamas condemns Germany synagogue attack". ynetnews. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  12. ↑ Levy, Elior (28 October 2018). "Hamas official condemns Pittsburgh attack: 'proves that terror has no religion'". ynetnews. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
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