Ahmed Yassin Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin ( 1937 – 22 March 2004 ) ( " " ) was a founder of Hamas , an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party . Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization . Hamas gained popularity in Palestinian society by establishing hospitals , education systems , libraries and other services , but it has also claimed responsibility for a number of suicide attack s targeting Israeli civilians , leading to its being characterized by the European Union , Israel , Japan , Canada , and the United States as a terrorist organization . Yassin , a quadriplegic who was nearly blind , had used a wheelchair since a sporting accident at the age of 12 . He was assassinated when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers . His killing , in an attack that claimed the lives of both his bodyguards and nine bystanders , precipitated both criticism and praise of Israel , and many observers suggested that the act would negatively impact the peace process . 200 , 000 Palestinians attended his funeral procession . Early life . Ahmed Yassin was born in al - Jura , a small village near the city of Ashkelon , during the British Mandate of Palestine . His date of birth is not known for certain : according to his Palestinian passport , he was born on 1 January 1937 , but he claimed to have actually been born in 1938 . His father , Abdullah Yassin , died when he was three years old . Afterward , he became known in his neighborhood as Ahmad Sa ' ada after his mother Sa ' ada al - Habeel . This was to differentiate him from the children of his father ' s other three wives . Together , Yassin had four brothers and two sisters . He and his entire family fled to Gaza , settling in al - Shati Camp after his village was captured by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab – Israeli War . Yassin came to Gaza as a refugee . When he was 12 , he sustained a severe spinal injury while wrestling his friend Abdullah al - Khatib . His neck was kept in plaster for 45 days . The damage to his spinal cord rendered him a quadraplegic for the rest of his life . Fearing a rift between his family and al - Khatib ' s , Yassin initially told his family that he sustained his injuries while playing leapfrog during a sports lesson with his school friends on the beach . Although Yassin applied and attended Al - Azhar University in Cairo , he was unable to pursue his studies there due to his deteriorating health . He was forced to be educated at home where he read widely , particularly on philosophical matters and on religion , politics , sociology , and economics . His followers believe that his worldly knowledge made him " one of the best speakers in the Gaza Strip . " During this time , he began delivering weekly sermons after Friday prayer s , drawing large crowds of people . After years of unemployment , he got a post as an Arabic language teacher at an elementary school in Rimal , Gaza . Headmaster Mohammad al - Shawa initially had reservations about Yassin , concerning the reception he would receive from the pupils due to his disability . However , according to al - Shawa , Yassin handled them well and his popularity grew , especially among the more scholarly children . His teaching methods reportedly provoked mixed reactions among parents because he encouraged his students to attend the mosque an additional two times a week . Having a regular job gave Yassin financial stability , and he married one of his relatives Halima Yassin in 1960 at the age of 22 . The couple had eleven children . Involvement in the Israel - Palestinian conflict . Yassin subsequently became involved with a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood . In 1984 he and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons , but in 1985 he was released as part of the Jibril Agreement . In 1987 , during the First Intifada , Yassin co - founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al - Rantissi , originally calling it the " paramilitary wing " of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood , and becoming its spiritual leader . Yassin opposed the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis . He supported armed resistance against Israel , and was very outspoken in his views . He asserted that Palestine is an Islamic land " consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day " and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory . Yassin ' s rhetoric did not distinguish between Israelis and Jews , at one point stating that " Reconciliation with the Jews is a crime . " Yassin ' s inflammatory rhetoric was often scrutinized in the news media . On one occasion , he opined that Israel " " must disappear from the map " " . Yassin ' s declaration that " We chose this road , and will end with martyrdom or victory " later became an oft repeated mantra among Palestinians . In 1989 , Yassin was arrested by the Israelis and sentenced to life imprisonment . In 1997 Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following the failed assassination attempt of Khaled Mashal , which had been 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 , on the condition that he refrain from continuing to call for suicide bombing s against Israel . Following his release , Yassin resumed his leadership of Hamas . He immediately resumed his calls for attacks on Israel , using tactics including suicide bombings , thus violating the condition of his release . He also sought to maintain relations with the Palestinian Authority , believing that a clash between the two groups would be harmful to the interests of the Palestinian people . Yassin , however , was repeatedly placed under house arrest by the Authority . Each time he was eventually released , often after extended demonstrations by his supporters . Yassin criticized the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit . His group initially declared a temporary truce with Israel . However , in July 2003 , the truce unravelled after a Palestinian suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus left 21 people dead . Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation . On 6 September 2003 , an Israeli Air Force ( IAF ) F - 16 fired several missiles on a building in Gaza City , the Gaza Strip . Yassin was in the building at the time but survived . Israeli officials later confirmed that Yassin was the target of the attack . His injuries were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City . Yassin responded to the media 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 . " Yassin further promised that Hamas would teach Israel an " unforgettable lesson " as a result of the assassination attempt . Yassin made no attempt to guard himself from further attempts on his life or hide his location . Journalists sometimes visited his Gaza address and Yassin maintained a routine daily pattern of activity , including being wheeled every morning to a nearby mosque . Reem Raiyshi ' s suicide bombing at the Erez crossing on 14 January 2004 , which killed four civilians , was believed by the Israeli military to have been directly ordered by Yassin . Yassin suggested that the suicide bomber was fulfilling her " obligation " to make jihad , and Israel ' s Deputy Defence Minister responded by publicly declaring that Yassin was " marked for death . " Yassin denied having any involvement in the attack ' s planning . Involvement in attacks on Israel . Yassin was a founder and prominent leader of Hamas , which is regarded as a terrorist organization by a number of national governments . Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Yassin as " the " mastermind of Palestinian terror " and a " mass murderer . " The Israeli government repeatedly asserted that Yassin was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks , which targeted and killed a number of civilians . They accused him of being behind all the attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Israel . Israel said the targeted killing was in response to dozens of suicide attack s by Hamas against Israeli civilians . According to an Israeli government website : Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership , which was directly involved in planning , orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization . In this capacity , Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities , as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations . In his public appearances and interviews , Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the ' armed struggle ' against Israel , and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens . The successful operation against Yassin constitutes a significant blow to a central pillar of the Hamas terrorist organization , and a major setback to its terrorist infrastructure . In his statement Yassin declared that Hamas did target Israeli civilians , only in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians . In his thinking this was a necessary tactic to “ show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people . ” Assassination . Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli attack on 22 March 2004 . While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session in Gaza city , an Israeli AH - 64 Apache helicopter gunship fired Hellfire missiles at Yassin and both of his bodyguards . Before the attack , Israeli F - 16 jets flew overhead to obscure the noise of the approaching helicopters . Yassin always used the same direction every morning to go to the same mosque in the Sabra district that is 100m from his home . Yassin and his bodyguards were killed instantly , along with nine bystanders . Another 12 people were injured in the operation , including two of Yassin ' s sons . Abdel Aziz al - Rantissi , Yassin ' s Deputy , became the Hamas Leader after his assassination . Reaction to assassination . Kofi Annan , UN Secretary General , condemned the killing . The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the killing supported by votes from 31 countries including the People ' s Republic of China , India , Indonesia , Russia , and South Africa with 2 votes against and 18 abstentions . The Arab League council also expressed condemnation , as did the African Union . A draft resolution condemning the extrajudicial execution of Yassin and six other Palestinians , as well as all terrorist attacks against civilians was brought before the United Nations Security Council and vetoed by the United States , with United Kingdom , Germany , and Romania abstaining . The United States explained that the draft resolution should have condemned Hamas explicitly following its sponsored suicide bombings in Ashdod the week before . Palestinian . The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools . Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested , " This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about " . The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had " opened the gates of hell . " Hamas called for retaliation against Israel . About 200 , 000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin ' s funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert . The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas , for the ﬁrst time , named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination . Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas . At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin , he declared that " The Israelis will not know security . . . We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine , the whole of Palestine . " Publicly addressing the " military wing " of Hamas , Rantisi suggested , " The door is open for you to strike all places , all the time and using all means . " Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to Yassin ' s . On 31 August 2004 , at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba . Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin . Following the bombing , an estimated 20 , 000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza ' s streets , celebrating the successful attack . Israeli . Shaul Mofaz , the Israeli Defense Minister , branded Yassin " the Palestinian Bin Laden " and said , " If we have to balance how many more terrorists Yassin would have sent , how many terror attacks he would have approved , if we weigh this on the scales , we acted rightly " . Avraham Poraz , Israel ' s Interior Minister and member of the centrist Shinui Party , said he believed the assassination of Yassin " was a bad idea because I am afraid of a revenge coming from the Palestinian side , from the Hamas side . " Shimon Peres , then leader of the Labour opposition , was critical of the assassination , suggesting that it " could lead to an escalation of terror . " Arab world . King Abdullah II of Jordan described the assassination as a " crime " ; Lebanon ' s president Emile Lahud vehemently denounced the Israeli act as " . . . a crime [ which ] will not succeed in liquidating the Palestinian cause " ; Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al - Ahmad Al - Jaber Al - Sabah said : " Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence " ; the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt , Mohammed Akef , described Yassin as a " martyr " and his assassination a " cowardly operation . " Western . Jack Straw , then British Foreign Secretary , said : " All of us understand Israel ' s need to protect itself – and it is fully entitled to do that – against the terrorism which affects it , within international law . But it is not entitled to go in for this kind of unlawful killing and we condemn it . It is unacceptable , it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objectives . " In response to a question about the killing , U . S . President George W . Bush responded , As far as the Middle East , it ' s a troubled region , and the attacks were troubling . There needs to be a focused , concerted effort by all parties to fight terror . Any country has a right to defend itself from terror . Israel has the right to defend herself from terror . And as she does so , I hope she keeps consequences in mind as to how to make sure we stay on the path to peace . United States Representative to the United Nations John Negroponte stated that the USA was " deeply troubled by this action by the Government of Israel " , while asserting that the U . S . would not support any U . N . Security Council statement condemning Israel ' s assassination of Yassin that did not include a condemnation of " Hamas terrorist attacks " . According to his statement to the UN Security Council ,