| Revision as of 03:07, 7 September 2003 view sourceMarcPrux (talk | contribs)154 editsm Added a bit about him being a blind paraplegic← Previous edit | Revision as of 17:46, 7 September 2003 view source Uriber (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers4,491 edits only "nearly blind", according to my sourcesNext edit → | ||
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| '''Sheikh Ahmed Yassin''' is the ''spiritual'' leader of the ] ] group ]. He took over Hamas towards the mid ]. As well as being blind, he is a paraplegic and has been confined to a wheelchair since an accident in his youth. | '''Sheikh Ahmed Yassin''' is the ''spiritual'' leader of the ] ] group ]. He took over Hamas towards the mid ]. As well as being nearly blind, he is a paraplegic and has been confined to a wheelchair since an accident in his youth. | ||
| For a while he preached for immediate violence, and was arrested by ] for that. | For a while he preached for immediate violence, and was arrested by ] for that. | ||
Revision as of 17:46, 7 September 2003
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is the spiritual leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. He took over Hamas towards the mid 1980s. As well as being nearly blind, he is a paraplegic and has been confined to a wheelchair since an accident in his youth.
For a while he preached for immediate violence, and was arrested by Israel for that. He was released in 1997 as part of an Israeli-Jordanian deal, following the failed assassination attempt of Khaled Mashal by the Israeli Mossad in Jordan.
Following his release, Yassin returned to active leadership of the Hamas, and resumed encouragement of violence, including suicide bombings, against Israeli targets.
On June 13, 2003, Israeli sources announced that Yassin "is not immune" to an Israeli attack. Three month later, on September 6, Yassin was the target of a failed Israeli assassination attempt. He escaped with light wounds.