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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22282866.htm

JERUSALEM, March 22 (Reuters) - Israel's assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was meant to decapitate Hamas but could end up drawing a wave of new recruits to the Islamic militant movement and broadening its hardline appeal.

While losing its charismatic spiritual leader may cause Hamas organisational setbacks, a surge of sympathy among even moderate Palestinians will lend popular legitimacy to its fight against the Jewish state, Middle East experts said on Monday.

"This is a great recruiting opportunity for Hamas," said Azzam al-Tamimi of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in London.

"Hamas is a movement that is horizontally and vertically integrated in the very fabric of Palestinian society," said Magnus Ranstorp of St. Andrew's University. "This will unite everyone in confrontation with the Israelis, on all quarters."

"The worst scenario, as far as Hamas is concerned, is that the halo effect of Ahmed Yassin might diminish with his death and then the people who are left behind will spell out their real positions, which are radically different," said Jawad al-Anani, a Dubai-based political analyst.