The Yahya Ayyash reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Yahya Ayyash

Yahya Ayyash (March 6, 1966 - January 6, 1996) was a member of the Hamas organization. He is credited with introducing the technique of suicide bombing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He received a degree in electrical engineering from Beir Zeit University in 1988.

Ayyash became one of the chief bomb-makers for Hamas. In that capacity, he earned the nickname the Engineer ("Al-Muhandis" in Arabic). The bombings he orchestrated caused the deaths of more than 70 Israelis. These bombings began after the killing of approximately 50 Palestinians by Baruch Goldstein on February 25, 1994.

He was killed by the Israeli Shin Bet in 1996 following a massive manhunt. They were able to compromise one of Ayyash's fellow Hamas members, who gave him a cell phone full of explosives. When they confirmed Ayyash was using it, the Shin Bet detonated it, killing him instantly.

Aftermath

Israel did not confirm or deny its role in killing Ayyash. This led to wild rumors and speculations as to the extent of their involvement. Three days after the assassination, the head of the Shin Bet at the time, Carmi Gillion resigned his post. In retaliation HAMAS launched a series of suicide bombings. These attacks began on February 26, 1996, with dual early morning suicide bombings of an Israeli bus and troops on the roadside. Other revenge attacks included the suicide bombing of an Israeli bus on March 3, 1996, and the March 4th bombing of Dizengoff Center.

This is the "Yahya Ayyash" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.