Tel Aviv, February 24: A son of one of the founders of Hamas spied from inside the movement for Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported in its Wednesday edition.
According to extracts of an article to be published on Friday, Israeli agents were able to prevent dozens of attacks thanks to the help of 32-year-old Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef.
In particular, the information led to the arrests of Ibrahim Hamid, once the movement’s military chief in the West Bank, and other leading members including Marwan Barghuti, a key figure in the Palestinian uprising in 2000.
Yousef was known by his Shin Bet handlers as “The Green Prince”.
The article came from extracts of a book, “Son of Hamas”, cowritten by Yousef, who converted to Christianity 10 years ago and now lives in California.
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Radwan rejected the report, calling it “baseless slander” aimed at the elder 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,” he said in a statement.
“The Palestinian people have great confidence in Hamas and its struggle and they will not be fooled by this slander and these lies of the Israeli occupation,” he added.
—Agencies