Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is the spiritual leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. He took over Hamas towards the mid 1980s.

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.