Gaza, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement announced to have elected Ziad al-Nakhala as its new politburo chief, replacing the former leader Abdullah Shalah, the group's spokesman said Friday.

Al-Nakhala is the third secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad movement after Shalah, who has suffered a major health problem for several months, and the founder of the group Fathi Shikaki, who was assassinated in 1995.

The new Islamic Jihad chief was born in the Gaza Strip in 1953 and spent 14 years in a prison in Israel. He lived between Lebanon and Syria and has been the deputy of Shalah since he was elected to office.

The spokesman Dawood Shihab also announced the names of the politburo members of the movement in the Gaza Strip.