March 22, 2004 - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) extra-judicially assassinated the spiritual leader of Hamas Sheikh Ahmad Yasin while leaving a mosque after he performed his predawn prayers in Gaza early Monday. The martyr founded the Islamic Resistance Movement under the 37-year-old Israeli occupation. Palestinian PM Ahmad Qurei described the assassination of Yasin as a “crazy, dangerous and cowardly act.” IOF sealed off the Palestinian Territory indefinitely. The West Bank and Gaza Strip went on general strike in public mourning.