People
YASSIN, Ahmed -- HAMAS founder
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was born near Gaza in 1938 in Palestine during the British Mandate. At age 12, he was paralysed in a sporting accident and was confined to a wheelchair. During the Nakba in 1948, he fled to Gaza. At the beginning of the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987, he founded Hamas from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood. Yassin was arrested in mass roundup of nearly 200 Hamas members in 1989 and was sentenced to life in prison for ordering attacks on Israeli soldiers and on Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. (Added 23 March 2004)

In 1997, he was released following the intervention of Jordan's late King Hussein after an unsuccessful Mossad assassination attempt on another Hamas leader on Jordanian soil. The day after his return to Gaza on 6 October 1997, Yassin declared, "If Israel withdraws completely from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and it removes all of its settlements, I will make a truce with it. You have my word for it" (Reuters/CNN).

In September 2003, three years after the outbreak of the Second Palestinian Intifada, Israel attempted to assassinate Yassin. On 22 March 2004, Israel assassinated him in a helicopter rocket attack as he exited a Gazan mosque.

Biography
  • PASSIA's biography of Yassin
  • MIFTAH's biography of Yassin


    The Assassination
  • Israel assassinates Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Palestinian Center for Human Rights (22 March 2004)
  • In Pictures: Sheikh Ahmad Yassin's assassination, Al-Jazeera (22 March 2004)


    Analysis
  • The 'targeted killing' of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Nigel Parry (22 March 2004)
  • It's Not About Yassin, Ashley Souther (22 March 2004)
  • Assassination is indeed an unlawful act, Arjan El Fassed (23 March 2004)
  • As in Tiennamen Square, Tanya Reinhart (1 April 2004)


    The Political Aftermath
  • Security Council fails to adopt resolution condemning assassination Yassin, UN News (26 March 2004)
  • Human Rights Commission concludes debate on Palestine, UNHCHR (25 March 2004)
  • Commission on Human Rights condemns assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, UNHCHR (24 March 2004)
  • Security Council meets on killing of Hamas leader Yassin, UN News (23 March 2004)
  • Amnesty International strongly condemns the assassination of Sheikh Yassin, Amnesty International (22 March 2004)
  • Annan, UN envoy condemn Israeli assassination of Hamas leader, United Nations (22 March 2004)
  • Security Council meets on killing of Hamas leader Yassin, United Nations (23 March 2004)
  • Congress of South African Trade Unions condemns assassination Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, COSATU (23 March 2004)
  • UN holds consultations following assassination of Sheikh Yassin, Arjan El Fassed (23 March 2004)
  • EI on BBC World Service "The World Today", Audio, BBC World Service (26 March 2004)


    Media Coverage
  • Letter to NPR about its coverage of the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Hugh Sansom (22 March 2004)


    Related Links
  • BY TOPIC: Israel's Assassination Policy


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