This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MarcPrux (talk | contribs) at 03:07, 7 September 2003 (Added a bit about him being a blind paraplegic). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 03:07, 7 September 2003 by MarcPrux (talk | contribs) (Added a bit about him being a blind paraplegic)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)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 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.