The Israeli left, in turn, was correct in its position that Israel's corrosive occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank had to end.

FORBES: Fact And Comment

When Mr Yassin co-founded Hamas in 1987, the Islamic group's aim was not just to end Israel's occupation of the Gaza strip and West Bank (which had both been seized in a war 20 years earlier) but also to destroy Israel itself.

ECONOMIST: A wave of fury at Yassin’s killing | The

The end of the 1967 war and the beginning of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip brought dramatic changes to the lives of both Palestinians and Israelis.

NPR: Six Day War: Land Ownership Disputes Arise

In 1994, Israel's three decades of occupation in the Gaza Strip ended as Israeli troops completed their withdrawal and Palestinian authorities took over.

CNN: Saturday,

But the Palestinians said Mr Sharon's plan violated international law, which viewed the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights as temporary.

BBC: NEWS | UK | PM welcomes Israeli offer

He was brought up in the refugee camps of the Gaza Strip, at first under Egyptian control and then, after 1967, under Israeli occupation.

BBC: NEWS | Middle East | Profile: Hamas leader Rantissi