{"article":{"id":105826,"heading":"Hamas spiritual leader killed by Israel","author":"shalom","created":"2004-03-23 08:25:48","modified":"2005-08-15 02:52:33","last_modified":"Mon, 15 Aug 2005 09:52:33","article":"

Israel Assassinates Hamas' Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli helicopter gunships killed Hamas' spiritual leader

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and at least three other people in a missile strike as

they left a mosque before dawn on Monday in Gaza, witnesses said.

A Reuters reporter who rushed to the scene after hearing three loud

explosions found the blown-up remains of Yassin's blood-soaked wheel-chair.

One witness who lives near the mosque told Reuters what happened moments

after the first explosion.

\"I looked to see where Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was,\" he said. \"He was lying on

the ground and his chair was destroyed. People there darted left and right.

Then another two missiles landed.\"

Yassin's body was evacuated to Gaza City's Shifa hospital. The bodies of

three other people, at least two of them Yassin's bodyguards, were also at

the morgue.

At least 10 people were wounded in the attack, including Yassin's two sons

who were moderately hurt.

\"The sheikh is dead. The sheikh is dead,\" sobbed gunmen and Hamas militants

who gathered at the scene.

Israel has said it would step up operations to track and kill Islamic

militants after a string of suicide bombings, including one at a strategic

port last week in which 10 people were killed. Tens of thousands of

Palestinians, many in tears, poured into Gaza City streets. Gunmen fired

into the air and militants threw dozens of pipe-bombs to express their

anger.

\"Sheikh Ahmed Yassin rest in peace. They will never enjoy rest. We will send

death to every house, every city, every street in Israel,\" militants shouted

over loudspeakers

Palestinian Authority officials condemned the attack.

\"This is a crazy and very dangerous act. It opens the door wide to chaos.

Yassin is known for his moderation and he was controlling Hamas and

therefore this is a dangerous, cowardly act,\" said Prime Minister Ahmed

Qurie.

Yassin, who was about 67-years-old, has been confined to a wheelchair since

a childhood accident that paralyzed him. He is also partially blind. Yassin

was sentenced by Israel in 1989 to a life term for founding Hamas and

inciting Palestinians to attack Israelis.

But Israel released him in 1997 as a goodwill gesture to Jordan's King

Hussein after a failed Israeli attempt to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled

Mashal in Jordan.

\"All of Palestine will turn into a volcano that will burn up the enemies,\"

Sheikh Ismael Haniyah, a Hamas leader, told reporters outside the morgue

after viewing Yassin's body. \"Our feelings...are full of anger and desire

for revenge.\"

<\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","summary":"Palestinians gather around pieces of the wheelchair and blood stains at the scene where an Israeli air strike killed Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin, near his house in Gaza City, Monday, March 22, 2004. Israeli helicopters fired missiles at Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin as he left a mosque near his house at daybreak. (AP Photo\/Kevin Frayer). Tens of thousands of Palestinians chant anti occupation slogans as they march through the streets to the house of Sheik Yassin after his killing. (AP Photo\/Hatem Moussa) ","numcomment":3,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2004\/03\/yassin.jpg","filesize":"74.2 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2004\/03\/105826.php","image":{"original":"\/uploads\/2004\/03\/yassin.jpg","small":"\/uploads\/2004\/03\/yassin.jpgthumb.jpg","medium":"\/uploads\/2004\/03\/yassin.jpgmid.jpg"}},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":105854,"heading":"murder of disabled militant","article":"Great heroics, Ariel, blowing up a wheel-chair bound man attempting to get into his automobile after a religious service. And one who, on the whole, was a moderating influence within Hamas - a group that was encouraged by Israel not so many years ago as a religious alternative to the secular PLO. \r\n Needless to say, this will set off a terrible wave of revenge killings of Israelies - which will suit Sharon just fine. It will mean more breathless coverage of how fanatical the primitive A-rabs are in the US media. And serve as and excuse for more Israeli military operations and land theft. And allow Bush to claim that if he is not elected in November crazed Muslim fantatics will be rampaging through the streets of Memphis, Cincinnati and Bakersfield. ","author":"Meyer London","parent_id":105826,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-03-23 18:38:49","modified":"2004-03-23 18:38:49","fileurl":""},{"id":105857,"heading":"fresca","article":"Fuck this wheelchair bound savage.\r\n\r\nCrippled or not, he was a fucking murderer.\r\n\r\nNothing gives me greater joy this morning than to see his annihilated wheelchair laying in the street with a bunch of terrorist-hero worshipping assholes looking at it dumbstruck.\r\n\r\n","author":"puh-lease","parent_id":105826,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-03-23 18:46:57","modified":"2004-03-23 18:46:57","fileurl":""},{"id":105863,"heading":"Best news I've heard in ages!!","article":"Hamas must be hopping mad. Hee hee!!\n\n*** This comment was posted from an IP associated with a disruptive poster. The MD5 hash of their IP is beffacffec. This value is the same even if the user uses another name. Only posters deemed disruptive by the editorial collective will have this text appended to their posts. We apologize for any erroneous misidentifications.","author":"Barney","parent_id":105826,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2004-03-23 19:23:38","modified":"2004-03-23 19:23:38","fileurl":""}]}