Sudan's parliamentary speaker, Hassan al-Turabi, welcomed him on arrival and described Sheikh Yassin as "the pulse of the Islamic jihad [holy war]" for restoring the rights of the Palestinian people.

An Israeli newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, said in an unconfirmed report this week that Sheikh Yassin had raised fifty-million dollars for Hamas during his current tour.

Sudan's state-owned radio said Yassin would meet Sudanese government officials during his stay, expected to last a week.

The 61-year-old wheelchair-bound cleric was freed by Israel last October after serving eight years of a life prison sentence for attacks against Israel attacks by Hamas.