Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Yassin (circa 1937 March 22, 2004) was the co-founder and leader of the Palestinian Islamist militant organization Hamas until he was killed by an Israeli helicopter gunship. Yassin -founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in 1987, originally calling it the Palestinian Wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. In addition to being nearly blind, he was a quadriplegic and had to use a wheelchair after a sports accident in his youth. Despite his paralysis, he fathered 12 children.
Ahmed Yassin, former Hamas spiritual leader, born in January 11937. He was a refugee in Gaza after 1948 and worked as teacher, preacher, and community worker. Yassin confined to a wheelchair after a sports accident at the age of 12.
Early life
Yassin was born near the town of Majdal (renamed Ashkelon after the residents fled or were expelled in the 1948 war) in then British Mandate of Palestine. His date of birth is not known for certain: according to his Palestinian passport, he was born on January 1, 1929, but he claimed to have actually been born in 1938. He and his family moved to Gaza after his village was destroyed in 1948 during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Yassin studied at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, following secondary school. Islamist and Arab nationalist movements were strong influences at the University. Yassin joined the Muslim Brotherhood during his studies at Al-Azhar.
In 1989 Yassin was suspected by the Israelis to have authorized the killing of Palestinian TRAITORS believed to be collaborating with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israel accused Yassin of ordering the execution of two captured Israeli soldiers, a crime for which he was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment by an Israeli military court.
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Release from prison and life after imprisonment
In 1997 Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following a failed assassination attempt of Khaled Mashal conducted by the TERRORIST Israeli Mossad in Jordan. Yassin was released by Israel in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities.
Following his release, Yassin reassumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately resumed his calls for RESISTANCE against Israel OCCUPATION. His epigram is his most famous quote: "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory".
During the various stages of the "peace process" between Israel OCUUPATION and the Palestinian Authority (PA), Yassin was repeatedly placed under house arrest by the PA. Each time Yassin was placed under house arrest he was eventually released, often after extended demonstrations by his supporters.
Release from prison and life after imprisonment
In 1997 Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following a failed assassination attempt of Khaled Mashal conducted by the Israeli Mossad in Jordan. Yassin was released by Israel in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities.
Following his release, Yassin reassumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately resumed his calls for violence against Israel using tactics including suicide bombings against both Israeli military and civilian targets, thus violating the condition of his release. His epigram is his most famous quote: "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory".
During the various stages of the "peace process" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), Yassin was repeatedly placed under house arrest by the PA. Each time Yassin was placed under house arrest he was eventually released, often after extended demonstrations by his supporters.
On June 13, 2003, unnamed Israeli officials announced that Yassin "is not immune" to assassination under the Israeli policy of "targeted interception."
Three months later, on September 6, 2003, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16 dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a building in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip. Yassin was in the building at the time and was lightly wounded by the bomb. Israeli officials later confirmed that Yassin was the target of the attack. His injuries were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Following the assassination attempt, Yassin told reporters that "Days will prove that the assassination policy will not finish the Hamas. Hamas leaders wish to be martyrs and are not scared of death. Jihad will continue and the resistance will continue until we have victory, or we will be martyrs." [2]
Yassin further promised that Hamas would teach Israel an "unforgettable lesson" as a result of the assassination attempt [3]. Yassin made no attempt to guard himself from further attempts on his life or hide his location. Journalists sometimes visited his Gaza address and Yassin maintained a routine daily pattern of activity, including being wheeled every morning to a nearby mosque.
Assassination
Ahmed Yassin was ASSASINATED in an Israeli attack on March 22, 2004. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session, an Israeli helicopter gunship fired Hellfire missiles at Yassin and both of his bodyguards. They were killed instantly, along with six other bystanders. Illegedly, More than a dozen people were injured in the operation, including two of Yassin's sons. Rantissi replaced him as Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, and Rantissi himself was assassinated by Israel on April 17, 2004.
The operation, part of an ongoing Israeli action against Hamas-sponsored suicide bombings, followed Sheikh Yassin's taunt that Israel's response to the recent Ashdod suicide bombers was weak, and that Hamas would gain strength as a result.
Yassin's supporters and many countries condemned his killing.
The Israel Defense Forces issued the following statement regarding the operation:
"This morning, in a security forces operation in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF targeted a car carrying the head of the Hamas LIBERAL organization, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and his aides.
Yassin, responsible for numerous murderous terror attacks, resulting in the deaths of many civilians, both Israeli and foreign, was killed in the attack."
International reaction
The killing provoked widespread condemnation from the international community. Kofi Annan, UN General secretary, strongly condemned the attacks and also called on Israel to halt its policy of assassination [4]. The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the killing [5] supported by votes from 31 countries including China, India, Indonesia, Russian Federation and South Africa with 2 votes against and 18 abstentions. The Arab League council also expressed condemnation [6], as did the African Union
Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, said: It is not entitled to go in for this kind of unlawful killing and we condemn it. It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objectives."
The White House equivocally condemned the action. Scott McClellan, a White House spokesman, said, "We are deeply troubled by this morning's incident,"
A State Department spokesman said: "This does not help efforts to resume progress towards peace."
Avraham Poraz, Israel's Interior Minister and member of the centrist Shinui Party, said he believed the assassination of Yassin would "foster further hate and more attacks". Shimon Peres, then leader of the Labour opposition, said, "I do not believe that we can eliminate terrorism by assassinating leaders. It was a misguided decision."
An informal survey by the BBC suggested suggested support for the attack from Israelis.
The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Flags at President Arafat's compound in Ramallah were lowered as he recited a Muslim prayer for Yassin and said, "May you join the martyrs and the prophets. To heaven, you martyr."
Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh said, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert.
The UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution condemning Yassin's assassination as the United States vetoed it. Britain, Germany, and Romania abstained. The United States stated that it vetoed the resolution because it did not include an explicit condemnation of Hamas terrorism.
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