Abdel Karim Obeid (; ar, الشيخ عبد الكريم عبيد; born 1957) is a

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

and

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

of the village of

Jibchit Jebchit ( ar, جبشيت) is a village in the Nabatieh Governorate region of southern Lebanon located north of the Litani River. History In 1596, it was named as a village, ''Jibsid'', in the Ottoman empire, Ottoman ''nahiya'' (subdistrict) of S ...

in south

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, high-place of Lebanese Shiism.

Life

Regarded as the spiritual leader and soldier of the 'Islamic Amal' (no relation with the similarly named secular Resistance movement

Amal Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * Amal (film), ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed ...

, except that both catered to the Lebanese Shia community) in the south of Tyre, close to

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

and related to the operations of capturing western hostages since 1982. Abdel Karim Obeid was captured on 28 July 1989 by nearly 25 Israeli commandos in his village, Jibchit. Danny Abdalla, a Lebanese criminal living in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, who also admitted to having killed

Ragheb Harb Ragheb Harb ( ar, راغب حرب; 1952–1984 was a Lebanese leader and Muslim cleric. He was born in Jibchit in 1952, a village in the Jabal Amel region of Southern Lebanon. Harb was an imam and led the regional Shiite resistance against I ...

on behalf of the Israelis, claimed to have participated in the kidnapping of Abdul Karim Obeyd. As a result, Hezbollah put Abdalla on their death list, and he is wanted in Lebanon. Obeid was a long time held prisoner in Israel in the famous prison 1391, near the

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

, and later transferred to the Ashmoret penitentiary, located near

Kfar Yona Kfar Yona ( he, כְּפַר יוֹנָה, lit=Yona's Village) is a city in the Sharon subdistrict in the Central District of Israel. It is about 7 km east of Netanya. With a jurisdiction of 11,017 dunams (~11 km²). in it had a populat ...

, north of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In exchange of his release, Israel required information on the fate of the navigator Ron Arad (crashed in southern Lebanon in October 1986) at first, and later on for the bodies of the three soldiers abducted by Hezbollah in October 2000 at the Israeli-Lebanese border and for

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

colonel (res.) Elhanan Tannenbaum, who had been kidnapped at the same time in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. He was released in January 2004 with 20 other Lebanese prisoners, 400 Palestinian prisoners and a number of other nationals, as part of a deal to get the abducted soldiers and civilians back. He thanked Hezbollah and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian leaders for acting for his release.Mehr News
(in Arabic, from an Iranian news agency)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obeid, Abdel Karim 1957 births 1980s missing person cases Formerly missing people Hostages Kidnapped people Lebanese imams Lebanese Shia Muslims Living people Missing person cases in Lebanon Prisoners and detainees of Israel South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)

Life

See also

References