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Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, march 22 2004 |
22 mar 2004
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Tens of thousands of Palestinians marched in the funeral of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the founder of Hamas who was killed along with seven of his aids including one of his sons.
An Israeli Army statement sent to IMEMC confirmed that the Israeli Air Force killed Sheikh Yassin and his aids in a military operation in Gaza Strip that targeted his car. The statement claims that Yassin is responsible for the death of many Israeli and International civilians, by planning and giving orders to attack Israeli targets, and accused Hamas of cooperating with terror organizations. "Following the attack, a complete closure was imposed on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The Gaza Strip was parted into three parts." The statement said. |
Sheik Ahmad Yassin was born in 1938 in Al-Joura village in the southern Gaza Strip. He and his family became refugees in 1948 and moved to Gaza City. When he was young, he had an accident while playing sports which totally paralyzed him. He taught Arabic language and Islamic religion in schools in Gaza City before becoming a sheikh in Gaza mosques and a member of the Islamic Brotherhood.
He came to be the most famous preacher in the Gaza Strip. Yassin was arrested in 1983 by Israeli security forces and was accused of hiding weapons and forming a military organization. He was also accused of inciting the destruction of the state of Israel and was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment by a military court. Yassin served only two years as he was released in 1985 in a prisoner swap between Israel and The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's General Command, led by Ahmad Jibreel.
In 1987, after the first Intifada started, Yassin formed the Islamic Resistance Movement known as Hamas with other Islamic leaders in the Gaza Strip. It wasn't until later that Hamas spread to the West Bank.
In 1989, Yassin and other members of Hamas were arrested. At that time Hamas only used the white weapon and had carried out several stabbing attacks against soldiers and settlers. Hamas was also involved in killing Palestinian spies who worked for the Israeli Security services. In 1991 Yassin was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 years imprisonment for charges related to inciting to kidnap and kill Israeli soldiers and for forming Hamas. His physical condition was deteriorating.
In addition to his complete physical disability, he totally lost sight in his right eye and was experiencing chronic inflation in his ear, stomach, and innards, after being tortured during the investigation in jail, and because of the poor conditions in prison. This had him to be moved to the hospital several times.
In 1992, Hamas kidnapped the Israeli soldier Nashon Vaxman and offered to swap him with Sheikh Yassin and some prisoners being held in Lebanon. The Israeli government rejected the offer and raided the place where Vaxman was hiding in Beir Nabala village near Jerusalem. Vaxman, the commander of the army unit, and a Hamas operative were all killed during the raid.
Yassin was released in 1997 in an agreement between Israel and Jordan after the Jordanian authorities arrested two Mossad agents who attempted to assassinate the Jordanian Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal that same year.
After today's events the situation on the ground in the Gaza is remains tense. Hamas has vowed a very tough response to this assassination and has announced that Al-Qassam Brigades launched mortar shells at an Israeli settlement near Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses in Rafah said the resistance jeeps are all over the city.
An IMEMC correspondent in Gaza Strip reported that four Palestinians were killed today including a 12 year old child by Israeli troops. Usama Afandi, and Ahmad Ghabayen were killed near Netzarim settlement near Gaza City. 12 year old Mosaab Ghalban was shot dead at Al-Tuffah checkpoint in the southern Gaza Strip. Riad Zoorub died in the center of Khan Youins after being shot in the head by an Israeli sniper.
The total number of Palestinians killed Monday in the Gaza Strip so far reaches 14 in less than hours.
He came to be the most famous preacher in the Gaza Strip. Yassin was arrested in 1983 by Israeli security forces and was accused of hiding weapons and forming a military organization. He was also accused of inciting the destruction of the state of Israel and was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment by a military court. Yassin served only two years as he was released in 1985 in a prisoner swap between Israel and The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's General Command, led by Ahmad Jibreel.
In 1987, after the first Intifada started, Yassin formed the Islamic Resistance Movement known as Hamas with other Islamic leaders in the Gaza Strip. It wasn't until later that Hamas spread to the West Bank.
In 1989, Yassin and other members of Hamas were arrested. At that time Hamas only used the white weapon and had carried out several stabbing attacks against soldiers and settlers. Hamas was also involved in killing Palestinian spies who worked for the Israeli Security services. In 1991 Yassin was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 years imprisonment for charges related to inciting to kidnap and kill Israeli soldiers and for forming Hamas. His physical condition was deteriorating.
In addition to his complete physical disability, he totally lost sight in his right eye and was experiencing chronic inflation in his ear, stomach, and innards, after being tortured during the investigation in jail, and because of the poor conditions in prison. This had him to be moved to the hospital several times.
In 1992, Hamas kidnapped the Israeli soldier Nashon Vaxman and offered to swap him with Sheikh Yassin and some prisoners being held in Lebanon. The Israeli government rejected the offer and raided the place where Vaxman was hiding in Beir Nabala village near Jerusalem. Vaxman, the commander of the army unit, and a Hamas operative were all killed during the raid.
Yassin was released in 1997 in an agreement between Israel and Jordan after the Jordanian authorities arrested two Mossad agents who attempted to assassinate the Jordanian Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal that same year.
After today's events the situation on the ground in the Gaza is remains tense. Hamas has vowed a very tough response to this assassination and has announced that Al-Qassam Brigades launched mortar shells at an Israeli settlement near Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses in Rafah said the resistance jeeps are all over the city.
An IMEMC correspondent in Gaza Strip reported that four Palestinians were killed today including a 12 year old child by Israeli troops. Usama Afandi, and Ahmad Ghabayen were killed near Netzarim settlement near Gaza City. 12 year old Mosaab Ghalban was shot dead at Al-Tuffah checkpoint in the southern Gaza Strip. Riad Zoorub died in the center of Khan Youins after being shot in the head by an Israeli sniper.
The total number of Palestinians killed Monday in the Gaza Strip so far reaches 14 in less than hours.
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Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was a frail quadriplegic who could barely see. His voice was thin and quavering.
Yet he wielded growing power among Palestinians, long frustrated with a peace process that has failed to improve their lives. Thousands of cheering supporters turned out to watch him vow revenge for the first Israeli attempt on his life in September 2003. He was a hate figure for Israelis, described by ministers as the Palestinian Osama Bin Laden, "his hands tainted with the blood of hundreds of Israelis, children, women and babies". As the spiritual leader of one of the largest and most militant of all the Palestinian groups fighting the Israeli occupation, Sheikh Yassin was a prime target for Israelis. Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and advocates resistance rather than negotiations to get rid of the Israeli occupation. Born in 1938 in what was then Palestine under the British mandate, Sheikh Yassin's political views were forged at a time of humiliation and defeat for Palestinians. After a childhood accident left him a quadriplegic, he devoted his early life to Islamic scholarship and studied at al-Azhar university in Cairo, the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood. |
It was there that he formed the belief that Palestine was an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day", and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory.
New movement
Sheikh Yassin became actively involved with a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood but he did not come to widespread prominence until the first Palestinian intifada of 1987.
It was then that the Palestinian Islamist movement adopted the name Hamas, meaning "zeal" and also an Arabic acronym for "Islamic Resistance Movement", and he became its spiritual leader.
In 1989, Sheikh Yassin was arrested by the Israelis and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the killing of Palestinians who had allegedly collaborated with the Israeli army.
He was eventually released in 1997, in a trade-off with Jordan for two Israeli agents involved in an assassination attempt on a Hamas leader in Jordan.
During his time in prison, his importance as a symbol of Palestinian resistance had grown - but his popularity still fell far short of that enjoyed by Yasser Arafat.
Jihad
Believing that a divided leadership would undermine Palestinian interests, Sheikh Yassin sought to maintain good relations with the Palestinian Authority and with other regimes in the Arab world.
But he remained uncompromising on the issue of peace. "The so-called peace path is not peace and it is not a substitute for jihad and resistance," Sheikh Yassin repeatedly said.
He attacked the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit in Jordan, attended by the Israeli and US leaders as well as the then Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who pledged an end to violence.
Militant groups like Hamas did initially declare a temporary truce, but that unravelled in July 2003 after Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation for the suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus that left 21 people dead.
Fierce resistance
Hamas has been able to build support by offering material help to Palestinians suffering economic hardship during the latest intifada.
It has established charitable funds to establish schools, clinics and hospitals that provide free services to families in distress and has been able to attract millions of dollars from the Gulf and elsewhere.
Sheikh Yassin himself proved a powerful inspiration for young Palestinians disillusioned with the collapse of peace hopes.
He inspired them to offer up their lives, promising that suicide bombers who were willing to die for the sake of the dignity of Palestinians and in the service of a longer-term victory would achieve martyrdom.
Attempts to restrict Sheikh Yassin's activities met with fierce resistance from his supporters.
In December 2001, one man died in clashes with Palestinian police after Sheikh Yassin was placed under house arrest.
Shooting erupted again in June 2002 when Palestinian police surrounded his house, following a spate of bloody suicide bombings against Israel.
And, in September 2003, the Israeli army attempted to kill Sheikh Yassin, while he was at the house of a Hamas colleague in Gaza.
His killing in a missile strike on 22 March 2004 was seen by analysts as an attempt to stop his group taking advantage of a proposed Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
New movement
Sheikh Yassin became actively involved with a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood but he did not come to widespread prominence until the first Palestinian intifada of 1987.
It was then that the Palestinian Islamist movement adopted the name Hamas, meaning "zeal" and also an Arabic acronym for "Islamic Resistance Movement", and he became its spiritual leader.
In 1989, Sheikh Yassin was arrested by the Israelis and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the killing of Palestinians who had allegedly collaborated with the Israeli army.
He was eventually released in 1997, in a trade-off with Jordan for two Israeli agents involved in an assassination attempt on a Hamas leader in Jordan.
During his time in prison, his importance as a symbol of Palestinian resistance had grown - but his popularity still fell far short of that enjoyed by Yasser Arafat.
Jihad
Believing that a divided leadership would undermine Palestinian interests, Sheikh Yassin sought to maintain good relations with the Palestinian Authority and with other regimes in the Arab world.
But he remained uncompromising on the issue of peace. "The so-called peace path is not peace and it is not a substitute for jihad and resistance," Sheikh Yassin repeatedly said.
He attacked the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit in Jordan, attended by the Israeli and US leaders as well as the then Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who pledged an end to violence.
Militant groups like Hamas did initially declare a temporary truce, but that unravelled in July 2003 after Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation for the suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus that left 21 people dead.
Fierce resistance
Hamas has been able to build support by offering material help to Palestinians suffering economic hardship during the latest intifada.
It has established charitable funds to establish schools, clinics and hospitals that provide free services to families in distress and has been able to attract millions of dollars from the Gulf and elsewhere.
Sheikh Yassin himself proved a powerful inspiration for young Palestinians disillusioned with the collapse of peace hopes.
He inspired them to offer up their lives, promising that suicide bombers who were willing to die for the sake of the dignity of Palestinians and in the service of a longer-term victory would achieve martyrdom.
Attempts to restrict Sheikh Yassin's activities met with fierce resistance from his supporters.
In December 2001, one man died in clashes with Palestinian police after Sheikh Yassin was placed under house arrest.
Shooting erupted again in June 2002 when Palestinian police surrounded his house, following a spate of bloody suicide bombings against Israel.
And, in September 2003, the Israeli army attempted to kill Sheikh Yassin, while he was at the house of a Hamas colleague in Gaza.
His killing in a missile strike on 22 March 2004 was seen by analysts as an attempt to stop his group taking advantage of a proposed Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
by URI AVNERY
The assassination of Shiekh Admed Yassin is worse than a crime, it is an act of stupidity!
This is the beginning of a new chapter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It moves the conflict from the level of a solvable national conflict to the level of religious conflict, which by its very nature is insoluble.
The fate of the State of Israel is now in the hands of group of persons whose outlook is primitive and whose perceptions are retarded. They are incapable of understanding the mental, emotional and political dimensions of the conflict. This is a group of bankrupt political and military leaders who have failed in all their actions. They try to cover up their failures by a catastrophic escalation.
This act will not only endanger the personal security of every Israeli, both in the country and around the world, but also the existential security of the State of Israel. It has grievously hurt the chances of putting and end to the Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Muslim conflicts.
In the early 1980s the occupation authorities encouraged the founders of Hamas, hoping that they would create a counter-weight to Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Even after the start of the first intifada, the army and the security services gave preferential treatment of Hamas. Sheikh Yassin was arrested only a year after the outbreak.
There seems to be no limit to the stupidity of our political and military leaders. They endanger the future of the State of Israel.
URI AVNERY is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is one of the writers featured in The Other Israel: Voices of Dissent and Refusal. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch’s hot new book The Politics of Anti-Semitism. He can be reached at: [email protected].
The assassination of Shiekh Admed Yassin is worse than a crime, it is an act of stupidity!
This is the beginning of a new chapter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It moves the conflict from the level of a solvable national conflict to the level of religious conflict, which by its very nature is insoluble.
The fate of the State of Israel is now in the hands of group of persons whose outlook is primitive and whose perceptions are retarded. They are incapable of understanding the mental, emotional and political dimensions of the conflict. This is a group of bankrupt political and military leaders who have failed in all their actions. They try to cover up their failures by a catastrophic escalation.
This act will not only endanger the personal security of every Israeli, both in the country and around the world, but also the existential security of the State of Israel. It has grievously hurt the chances of putting and end to the Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Muslim conflicts.
In the early 1980s the occupation authorities encouraged the founders of Hamas, hoping that they would create a counter-weight to Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Even after the start of the first intifada, the army and the security services gave preferential treatment of Hamas. Sheikh Yassin was arrested only a year after the outbreak.
There seems to be no limit to the stupidity of our political and military leaders. They endanger the future of the State of Israel.
URI AVNERY is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is one of the writers featured in The Other Israel: Voices of Dissent and Refusal. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch’s hot new book The Politics of Anti-Semitism. He can be reached at: [email protected].
Palestinian men carrying coffin through the streets of Gaza
In an act of state terrorism, on Monday morning, 22 March 2004, Israeli occupying forces assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, 66, founder and political leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), immediately after he had left the mosque after finishing the dawn prayer. In addition to Sheikh Yassin, 7 Palestinian civilians, including 3 of Sheikh Yassin’s bodyguards, were killed and 17 others injured, including two of Sheikh Yassin’s sons.
This illegal and belligerent act is an actual implementation of the Israeli authorities’ threats to assassinate Sheikh Yassin, which were recently articulated by Israeli political and military officials. This is the second use of illegal and excessive force of its kind committed by Israeli occupying forces against a top figure in a Palestinian organization, as Israeli occupying forces previously assassinated the Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Abu ‘Ali Mustafa in Ramallah on 27 August 2001.
According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 05:20 on Monday morning, Israeli helicopter gunships launched 3 missiles at Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, 66, an elderly disabled man, after he had left the Islamic Association Mosque in the densely populated al-Sabra neighborhood in the center of Gaza city, after the dawn prayer. Sheikh Yassin was traveling on his wheelchair accompanied by 3 bodyguards, when one of the missiles directly hit Sheikh Yassin and his bodyguards. The other two missiles exploded in the surrounding area and killed 4 other civilians.
In addition to those killed, 17 civilians were injured, including Sheikh Yassin’s two sons: ‘Abdul Hamid, 33; and ‘Abdul Ghani, 29. Four children were among those injured. ‘Abdul Hamid and 5 of the injured remain in serious condition. All of the casualties were worshippers who had just left the mosque following the dawn prayer.
The other 7 victims killed were identified as: Mo’men Ibrahim al-Yazouri, 28; Rateb ‘Abdul Rahman al-‘Aloul, 35; Khamis Mushtaha, 32; Ameer Ahmed ‘Abdul ‘Aal, 25; Rabi’ ‘Abdul Hai ‘Abdul ‘Aal, 18, a bodyguard of Sheikh Yassin; Ayoub Ahmed ‘Atallah, 26, a bodyguard of Sheikh Yassin; Khalil ‘Abdul Elah Abu Jayab, 30, a bodyguard of Sheikh Yassin.
Israeli media reported after the incident that Israeli official sources announced that the assassination was approved by the Israeli government and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon himself supervised the attack.
Sheikh Yassin had survived a previous assassination attempt on 6 September 2003, when Israeli warplanes attacked an apartment building in which Sheikh Yassin and Isma’il Haniya, another leader of Hamas, were present. The two leaders were lightly injured during that incident.
PCHR strongly condemns this illegal and excessive use of force, which was committed in the context of the policy of extra-judicial assassination officially adopted by the Israeli government, in violation of international law and humanitarian law.
PCHR believes that this horrific act further proves that the Israeli government continues its aggression contrary to its misleading claims of seeking peace. Such actions signify that the Israeli government and Prime Minister Sharon have decided to intentionally escalate tension in the whole region.
PCHR calls upon international community to immediately intervene to prevent further deterioration in the region and provide protection for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who face the destructive Israeli arsenal that is unwilling to respect international humanitarian and human rights law.
In an act of state terrorism, on Monday morning, 22 March 2004, Israeli occupying forces assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, 66, founder and political leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), immediately after he had left the mosque after finishing the dawn prayer. In addition to Sheikh Yassin, 7 Palestinian civilians, including 3 of Sheikh Yassin’s bodyguards, were killed and 17 others injured, including two of Sheikh Yassin’s sons.
This illegal and belligerent act is an actual implementation of the Israeli authorities’ threats to assassinate Sheikh Yassin, which were recently articulated by Israeli political and military officials. This is the second use of illegal and excessive force of its kind committed by Israeli occupying forces against a top figure in a Palestinian organization, as Israeli occupying forces previously assassinated the Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Abu ‘Ali Mustafa in Ramallah on 27 August 2001.
According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 05:20 on Monday morning, Israeli helicopter gunships launched 3 missiles at Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, 66, an elderly disabled man, after he had left the Islamic Association Mosque in the densely populated al-Sabra neighborhood in the center of Gaza city, after the dawn prayer. Sheikh Yassin was traveling on his wheelchair accompanied by 3 bodyguards, when one of the missiles directly hit Sheikh Yassin and his bodyguards. The other two missiles exploded in the surrounding area and killed 4 other civilians.
In addition to those killed, 17 civilians were injured, including Sheikh Yassin’s two sons: ‘Abdul Hamid, 33; and ‘Abdul Ghani, 29. Four children were among those injured. ‘Abdul Hamid and 5 of the injured remain in serious condition. All of the casualties were worshippers who had just left the mosque following the dawn prayer.
The other 7 victims killed were identified as: Mo’men Ibrahim al-Yazouri, 28; Rateb ‘Abdul Rahman al-‘Aloul, 35; Khamis Mushtaha, 32; Ameer Ahmed ‘Abdul ‘Aal, 25; Rabi’ ‘Abdul Hai ‘Abdul ‘Aal, 18, a bodyguard of Sheikh Yassin; Ayoub Ahmed ‘Atallah, 26, a bodyguard of Sheikh Yassin; Khalil ‘Abdul Elah Abu Jayab, 30, a bodyguard of Sheikh Yassin.
Israeli media reported after the incident that Israeli official sources announced that the assassination was approved by the Israeli government and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon himself supervised the attack.
Sheikh Yassin had survived a previous assassination attempt on 6 September 2003, when Israeli warplanes attacked an apartment building in which Sheikh Yassin and Isma’il Haniya, another leader of Hamas, were present. The two leaders were lightly injured during that incident.
PCHR strongly condemns this illegal and excessive use of force, which was committed in the context of the policy of extra-judicial assassination officially adopted by the Israeli government, in violation of international law and humanitarian law.
PCHR believes that this horrific act further proves that the Israeli government continues its aggression contrary to its misleading claims of seeking peace. Such actions signify that the Israeli government and Prime Minister Sharon have decided to intentionally escalate tension in the whole region.
PCHR calls upon international community to immediately intervene to prevent further deterioration in the region and provide protection for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who face the destructive Israeli arsenal that is unwilling to respect international humanitarian and human rights law.
17 jan 2004
After a top Israeli official warned that Hamas Spritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is "Marked for death", The European Union called Friday on Israel not to resume targeted killing, saying that it would be counterproductive to efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.
"The European Union has spoken on several occasions against the so-called extra-judicial killings of suspected terrorists," EU spokesman Diego Ojeda said In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher emphasized that the United States opposes targeted killings, demanding of Israel to "consider the consequences of its actions" while practicing its right to defend itself.
The Palestinian Authority warned Israel against resuming the targeted killings policy, saying that it would eliminate any chances to resume peace talks and would escalate more the cycle of violence.
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim said that security establishment is considering targeting senior Hamas officials, adding that Yassin topped the list. "Sheikh Yassin is marked for death, and he should hide himself deep underground where he won't know the difference between day and night. And we will find him in the tunnels, and we will eliminate him," Boim told Israel's Army Radio on Thursday night.
Yassin said Friday "We do not fear the threat of death, or death threats", but at the same time denying any involvement in Wednesday bombing attack that took the lives of four Israeli soldiers. Yassin denied allegations by Israeli security officials that he had approved Wednesday's bombing carried out by a female bomber. In a statement released Friday, Hamas military wing warned that "Israel will pay a heavy price for any attempt to harm the Sheikh and the [Hamas] political leadership."
Yassin escaped an Israeli attempt to kill him in September, when a warplane dropped a 250-kilogram bomb on a building where he and the rest of the top Hamas leadership were meeting. The Wednesday bombing attack at Erez military check post was the first time in which a female Hamas member launched a suicide attack, an issue that was subject to a heated religious dispute.
Yassin called the Wednesday bombing "a new development in the struggle against the enemy".
"The European Union has spoken on several occasions against the so-called extra-judicial killings of suspected terrorists," EU spokesman Diego Ojeda said In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher emphasized that the United States opposes targeted killings, demanding of Israel to "consider the consequences of its actions" while practicing its right to defend itself.
The Palestinian Authority warned Israel against resuming the targeted killings policy, saying that it would eliminate any chances to resume peace talks and would escalate more the cycle of violence.
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim said that security establishment is considering targeting senior Hamas officials, adding that Yassin topped the list. "Sheikh Yassin is marked for death, and he should hide himself deep underground where he won't know the difference between day and night. And we will find him in the tunnels, and we will eliminate him," Boim told Israel's Army Radio on Thursday night.
Yassin said Friday "We do not fear the threat of death, or death threats", but at the same time denying any involvement in Wednesday bombing attack that took the lives of four Israeli soldiers. Yassin denied allegations by Israeli security officials that he had approved Wednesday's bombing carried out by a female bomber. In a statement released Friday, Hamas military wing warned that "Israel will pay a heavy price for any attempt to harm the Sheikh and the [Hamas] political leadership."
Yassin escaped an Israeli attempt to kill him in September, when a warplane dropped a 250-kilogram bomb on a building where he and the rest of the top Hamas leadership were meeting. The Wednesday bombing attack at Erez military check post was the first time in which a female Hamas member launched a suicide attack, an issue that was subject to a heated religious dispute.
Yassin called the Wednesday bombing "a new development in the struggle against the enemy".
7 sept 2003
Hamas spritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin and his close aid Ismael Haneiah escaped an assassination attempt Saturday afternoon when an Israeli F-16 jet dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a building in Gaza city.
Yassin was lightly injured and 15 others were wounded including women and children residing in the attacked neighborhood.
Dr. Marwan Abu Ras, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters that a missile struck his home moments after Yassin and Haneiah left. “We heard a loud noise and then every thing went black and then red before my eyes" Abu Ras said while being treated in Alshifa hospital for injuries in the chest and leg.
Israeli security sources confirmed that the attack targeted Sheikh Yassin and other Hamas officials and vowed further actions against Hamas leadership.
Yassin, aiming his comments at Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, told a crowd of supporters after praying at a mosque, “you will pay the price for this crime."
Palestinian Minister of External Affairs Nabil Sha'ath condemned the Israeli strike as an additional occupation crime and said in an interview with BBC, “continuation of assassinations and murders of Palestinian leaders was shocking news... which contributes to further escalation."
Yassin was lightly injured and 15 others were wounded including women and children residing in the attacked neighborhood.
Dr. Marwan Abu Ras, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters that a missile struck his home moments after Yassin and Haneiah left. “We heard a loud noise and then every thing went black and then red before my eyes" Abu Ras said while being treated in Alshifa hospital for injuries in the chest and leg.
Israeli security sources confirmed that the attack targeted Sheikh Yassin and other Hamas officials and vowed further actions against Hamas leadership.
Yassin, aiming his comments at Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, told a crowd of supporters after praying at a mosque, “you will pay the price for this crime."
Palestinian Minister of External Affairs Nabil Sha'ath condemned the Israeli strike as an additional occupation crime and said in an interview with BBC, “continuation of assassinations and murders of Palestinian leaders was shocking news... which contributes to further escalation."
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