[Achtergrond] Wie was Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

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Sheikh Ahmed Yassin



Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (1936 - March 22, 2004) was the spiritual leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Yassin founded Hamas in 1987, originally calling it the Palestinian Wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. As well as being nearly blind, he was a paraplegic and was confined to a wheelchair after an accident in his youth.

Yassin was born in 1936 near the town of Ashkelon, but he moved to Gaza after his village was destroyed in 1948, most probably as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Yassin studied at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt following secondary school, despite his paralysis as a result of a childhood injury. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded at Al-Azhar, and the University was a hotbed of Islamism and Arab nationalism. Yassin joined the Brotherhood at some point during his studies at Al-Azhar.

Yassin repeatedly said that the land of Israel is "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. and that "The so-called peace path is not peace and it is not a substitute for jihad and resistance." [1].

In 1989 Yassin allegedly ordered the killing of Palestinians who he believed had collaborated with the Israel Defence Forces. He was also convicted of ordering the kidnapping and killing of two IDF soldiers. He was arrested by Israel for these crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment by an Israeli court.

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 returned to his role as spiritual leader of Hamas. He immediately resumed his calls for resistance to Israeli occupation using tactics including suicide bombings against both Israeli military and civilian targets.

During the various stages of the "peace process" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, 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, Israeli sources announced that Yassin "is not immune" to assassination under the Israeli doctrine of targeted assassination.

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 assassination attempt. Israeli officials would later confirm that Yassin was a target of the attack. Yassin was treated for injuries sustained in the attack 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 said that Hamas would teach Israel an "unforgettable lesson" as a result of the assassination attempt [3].

Yassin was killed in another Israeli attack on March 22, 2004 as he was being wheeled to his car in his wheelchair. He was hit by missiles from helicopter gunships as part of an ongoing Israeli retaliation against Hamas-sponsored suicide bombings. The Sheikh was leaving an early morning prayer session when the missiles hit. The Shiek was instantly killed, and two of his sons were injured. The attack followed Sheik Yassin's taunt that Israel's response to the Ashdod suicide bombers was weak, and that Hamas will only gain strength on account of Israel's weak response.