The father is a committed militant. He co-founded an organization that will use whatever tactics are necessary to accomplish its goals, even violence—or more accurately, especially violence. His children were raised in his radical ideology, and he felt great pride as he watched his eldest son walking in his footsteps. But then his dreams of family succession fell apart. His beloved eldest betrayed him. Turning toward the enemy, the heir apparent poured out all he knew to foreign intelligence operatives. Attacks were thwarted, militants were arrested, and the father himself was locked away in a prison cell.

This is not the backstory to my next Marcus Ryker thriller novel. It the real-life history of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, the co-founder of Hamas. Hamas is a Palestinian terrorist organization which managed to wrest for itself the de facto government leadership in the Gaza Strip. In 1999, Yousef’s eldest son, Mosab, was recruited by Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service. Dubbed the “Green Prince” by his handlers after his pedigree and the color of the Hamas flag, Mosab Yousef began smuggling out information that thwarted violent attacks and led to the break-up and arrest of numerous terrorist cells.[1] The betrayal against Hassan Yousef multiplied even more after the Green Prince fled the country. That was when the firstborn son abandoned his religion and converted to Christianity. You can read more about Mosab Yousef’s story in his book, Son of Hamas.

Now, two decades later, treachery has once again struck Hassan Yousef’s family. This time the turncoat is Yousef’s youngest son. While working for Hamas in Turkey, Suheib Yousef slipped away and escaped to an undisclosed Asian country. Once he was safe, he contacted an Israeli journalist and began ripping the cover off his father’s violent organization.[2]

According to Suheib, Hamas’s “political operation” in Turkey is less politics and more intelligence gathering service. From its base in Istanbul, Hamas operates listening stations and other assets that eavesdrop on conversations of rival Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, phone calls within their great enemy Israel, and private communications among their Arab allies.[3] Could this just be the expected intelligence gathering in order to protect themselves and their positions? No, says Suheib.

In a recent interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Suheib Yousef claimed, “They were working for a foreign agenda. This isn’t for the Palestinian cause. Instead, they sell the information to Iran in return for financial assistance.”[4] In essence, Hamas has become a mercenary intelligence-gathering service for Iran’s radical regime.

What happens to the money that Hamas receives for their work? Does the “financial assistance” benefit Gaza’s impoverished economy. Again, Suheib says no.

“Hamas leaders [in Turkey] live in fancy hotels and luxury towers, their kids learn at private schools, and they are very well paid by Hamas. . . . They have guards, swimming pools, country clubs. . . . They ate in the best restaurants, I would see them eating at places where [just] one course cost $200.”[5]

While few are surprised that there is corruption and hypocrisy within Hamas, it is unusual to receive such clear confirmation from such a high-placed source. The Palestinians of Gaza will never rise up from their poverty and ethnic hatred until there is a complete leadership overhaul. They need to be governed by leaders who are more concerned for the people than they are for themselves. Join me in praying for the Lord to remove leaders like Sheikh Hassan Yousef and his ilk. Also, please pray for the Palestinian people. They need the hope, peace, and love that come from a relationship with the one true God who loves them greatly and desires for them to know Him.

---

[1] TOI staff. “Second ‘Son of Hamas’ Leaves Terror Group, Exposing Corruption, Turkish Spy Ring.” The Times of Israel, 4 July 2019, www.timesofisrael.com/second-son-of-hamas-leaves-terror-group-exposing-corruption-turkish-spy-ring/.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.