Sheikh Abd al-Karim Obeid (1957-) was an imam from Jibchit, Lebanon who was both a senior Hezbollah cleric and the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in southern Lebanon.
Biography[]
Sheikh Abd al-Karim Obeid was born in 1957 in Jibchit to the south of Tyre, Lebanon to a Shi'ite Muslim family. He became close to Hezbollah and aided in the capture of western hostages in 1982 during the Lebanese Civil War, and he became a senior cleric of Hezbollah and the regional commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in southern Lebanon. On 28 July 1989, in revenge for Abed al-Mufti Gneim's attack on the regular 405 bus service from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem that killed 16 people, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) kidnapped Obeid from his home. He was held in prison for years, and in January 2004 he was released with 20 Lebanese prisoners, 400 Palestinian prisoners, and other nationals in exchange for captured Israeli troops and civilians.