Sheikh Ahmad Yassin was born in the occupied Palestinian city of Asqalan with the outbreak of the 1936 revolution as if he was destined to be born with a revolution and protest alongside the angry Palestinian masses against occupation, colonialism and the Zionist immigration to Palestine.

As a child, he was forcefully displaced from his home along with thousands of Palestinian refugees to the Gaza Strip, where he lived in poverty, just like them, and learned that no right will be forfeited as long as one is demanding it. Embracing such principles, the young sheikh taught the young generations that the liberation of Palestine is dependent on those who believe that “What was taken by force, can only be restored by force.”

Despite his disability, Yassin advocated for his thoughts and beliefs among the youth in the Gaza Strip and throughout Palestine. The high-spirited sheikh endured pain, fought diseases, and stood steadfast in the face of the Israeli occupation and was determined on wining over weakness, imprisonment, disappointment and over those who falsify history and have an insatiable desire to lead the Palestinian people without qualifications.

Sheikh Yassin would have never been able to overcome the difficulties that had faced him if he was not a high-spirited, honest and loved one, who had a kind heart, profound wisdom and a great ability to take decisions under the most difficult circumstances.

Yassin’s charismatic personality, which made him a prominent figure for not only the Palestinian people but the Arab and Muslim world, did not prevent the Israeli occupation from carrying out its heinous crime of assassinating the then severely ill sheikh along with a number of Palestinians 17 years ago.

These are the seeds sown by the founders of this movement, including Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, who had overcome his disability and was a prominent figure not only in Palestine but the whole world.

On this anniversary, HAMAS reaffirmed the following principles set up by Sheikh Yassin:

First: Liberating Jerusalem and restoring its status as an Arab and Islamic capital for the independent future state of Palestine is a sacred duty for every Arab and Muslim.

Second: We will not recognize the Israeli occupation, make peace with it, and will never waive the Palestinians’ claim to any part of Palestine and their holy sites.

Third: The return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland is a non-negotiable, inalienable, sacred right; the Palestinian people will continue resisting the Israeli occupation until returning to their homeland, from which they were forced out.

Fourth: All Palestinian detainees will be released from Israeli prisons; we will not accept that they remain behind bars.

Fifth: A unity based on partnership in the Palestinian institutions and the national programme is a goal that we will continue striving for until ending the occupation.