Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who founded Hamas, was assassinated by Israel in 2004 [AP]
Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Profile: Hamas:
"Hamas, the Palestinian political movement that controls Gaza, rose to international prominence following its armed campaign against Israel during the second intifada, or uprising, which began in 2000.
The organisation, founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood movement, had already achieved widespread popularity in the Palestinian territories for its resistance to the Israeli military occupation and for its social programmes.
The pinnacle of that popularity came in January 2006, when the movement won a stunning victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections."
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