THE SON of a Hamas founder has revealed that he worked as an informer for Israeli intelligence for more than a decade, preventing dozens of attacks.
Mosab Hassan Yousef (32), the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, converted to Christianity and fled the West Bank three years ago for California.
In a book entitled Son of Hamas, to be published in the United States next week, Mr Yousef revealed his secret. In an interview with the Israeli Ha'aretznewspaper, ahead of the book's publication, Mr Yousef explained how he became a vital source of information for the Israel security agency, formerly known as the Shin Bet, from within Hamas.
His father, a respected sheikh from Ramallah and a founding member of the militant Islamic organisation in 1987, is serving a six-year term in an Israeli prison.
Mr Yousef followed in his father’s footsteps, rapidly emerging as a leader in the Hamas youth wing. He was approached by Israeli agents while in prison in 1996 and asked to provide information from within the upper echelons of Hamas.
He did so with remarkable success following his release from jail the following year. The informant was directly responsible for saving hundreds of innocent lives during the second intifada uprising, when suicide bombers struck repeatedly inside Israel, according to Israeli sources.
His Israeli code name was the Green Prince; green after the Hamas flag and prince because he was Sheik Yousef’s son.
Neither the Israel security agency nor members of Mr Yousef's family would comment on the Ha'aretzarticle.
Mr Yousef’s conversion to Christianity, an extremely rare and potentially dangerous decision for a Palestinian Muslim, had already made him the black sheep of the family.
Hamas official Ismail Radwan rejected the story as “baseless slander” aimed at embarrassing Sheikh Yousef.
“Everyone knows what Hamas is and who its leaders are. The leader Hassan Yousef is known for his history and his struggle against the Israeli occupation,” Mr Radwan said. “The Palestinian people have great confidence in Hamas . . . they will not be fooled by the lies of the Israeli occupation.”
Information provided by Mr Yousef reportedly led to the arrest of Ibrahim Hamid, a Hamas military leader in the West Bank, and Abdullah Barghouti, a bomb- maker behind an infamous suicide bombing in Jerusalem’s Sbarro restaurant in 2001.
He also played a role in the arrest of Marwan Barghouti, a key Fatah militia leader.
Ha'aretzquotes captain Loai, Mr Yousef's former handler, now retired, as saying the informant saved many Israeli lives. "The amazing thing is that none of his actions were done for money. He did things he believed in. He wanted to save lives. His grasp of intelligence matters was just as good as ours – the ideas, the insights. One insight of his was worth 1,000 hours of thought by top experts."