Ahmed yassin young

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was a frail quadriplegic who could barely see. His voice was thin and quavering.

Sheikh Yassin believed in "holy war"

Yet he wielded growing power among Palestinians, long frustrated with a peace process that has failed to improve their lives.

Thousands of cheering supporters turned out to watch him vow revenge for the first Israeli attempt on his life in September 2003.

Sheikh ahmed yassin assassination

He was a hate figure for Israelis, described by ministers as the Palestinian Osama Bin Laden, "his hands tainted with the blood of hundreds of Israelis, children, women and babies".

As the spiritual leader of one of the largest and most militant of all the Palestinian groups fighting the Israeli occupation, Sheikh Yassin was a prime target for Israelis.

Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and advocates resistance rather than negotiations to get rid of the Israeli occupation.

Born in 1938 in what was t