Basem Naim | |
|---|---|
| باسم نعيم | |
| Minister of Health in the Gaza Strip | |
| In office 15 June 2007 – 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | Ismail Haniyeh |
| Minister of Youth and Sports | |
| In office 17 March 2007 – 14 June 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Ismail Haniyeh |
| Preceded by | Ismail Haniyeh |
| Succeeded by | Tahani Abu Daqqa [ar] |
| Minister of Health | |
| In office 29 March 2006 – 17 March 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Ismail Haniyeh |
| Preceded by | Thehny al-Wahidi [ar] |
| Succeeded by | Radwan al-Akhras [ar] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1963-01-24)24 January 1963 (age 62) |
| Political party | Hamas |
| Profession |
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Basem Naim (Arabic:باسم نعيم,romanized: Bāsim Naʿīm; born 24 January 1963) is a Palestinian physician, politician, andHamas official. Naim served asMinister of Health in theFirst Haniyeh Government; then, asMinister of Youth and Sports in thePalestinian National Unity Government of March 2007. He resides in Istanbul, Turkey.
Following the election victory by Hamas, Naim, who holds a degree in medicine fromGermany and a PhD in surgery,[1][2] was named Minister of Health in 2007. As minister, Naim replacedFatah-affiliated hospital directors and medical staff with Hamas-aligned individuals. One affected professional, Jomaa Alsaqqa, a 20-year surgeon atal-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]
In October 2023, while acting as Hamas's representative in Moscow, Basem participated in a delegation led by senior Hamas memberMousa Abu Marzook, holding talks on foreign hostages in Gaza.[4][5]
In an interview withSky News, following theOctober 7 attacks, Naim said that Hamas did not kill civilians.[6][7] Likewise in an interview with60 Minutes Australia, Naim repeated that Hamas fighters had not commit 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]
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] andGermany[11] several times.
See video between 2:00 and 3:00
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Health 2006–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Youth and Sports 2007 | Succeeded by |