Son of Hamas founder - Israeli spy

[calfoxwc]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle7039011.ece

 

From Times Online February 24, 2010

 

Son of Hamas founder spied for Israel for more than a decadeJames Hider in Jerusalem

 

(Fox News)

Mosab Hassan Yousef, a 32-year-old convert to Christianity, now lives in California

 

The son of one of Hamas’s founding members was a spy in the service of Israel for more than a decade, helping prevent dozens of Islamist suicide bombers from finding their targets, it emerged today.

 

Codenamed the Green Prince by Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, supplied key intelligence on an almost daily basis from 1996 onwards and tracked down suicide bombers and their handlers from his father’s organization, the daily Haaretz said.

 

Information he supplied led to the arrests of some of the most wanted men by Israeli forces, including Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader often tipped as a potential president who was convicted of masterminding terrorist attacks, and one of Hamas’ top bomb-makers Abdullah Barghouti, who is no relation of the jailed Fatah chief.

 

Mr Yousef, a 32-year-old convert to Christianity who now lives in California, has revealed the intrigues of his years as a spy in a new book called Son of Hamas, much to the concern of Shin Bet, whose operations will be revealed in detail. While the revelations may give a boost to Israel’s intelligence service, whose external counterpart Mossad is still grappling with the diplomatic fall-out of last month’s Hamas assassination in Dubai, there will be concern that the account may give too many insights into the murky world of espionage.

 

However, Mr Yousef’s work will be far more damaging to Hamas, whose brutality he denounced. Dubai police have suggested that Mahmoud al-Mabhuh, the top Hamas militant found dead in a hotel room in the emirate on January 20, may have been betrayed by an insider from the Islamist movement itself.

 

And Mr Yousef had harsh words for the movement that his father helped form, and which now rules the Gaza Strip after a bloody takeover in summer 2007. “Hamas cannot make peace with the Israelis,” he told the daily. “That is against what their God tells them. It is impossible to make peace with infidels, only a cease-fire, and no one knows that better than I. The Hamas leadership is responsible for the killing of Palestinians, not Israelis."

 

Mr Yousef’s former Israeli handler, identified only as Captain Loai, praised the resolve of his agent, whose codename derived from the colour of Islam – and Hamas’ – banner and from his exalted position within an organization that regularly kills those suspected of collaborating with the Jewish state.

 

"So many people owe him their life and don't even know it," he said. "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."

 

Mr Yousef, whose father is still in an Israeli jail cell, from where he was elected as an MP in 2006, went as far as tracking down would-be kamikazes himself in the streets of the West bank during the Second Intifada which erupted a decade ago and left thousands of Palestinians and Israelis dead. On one occasion he followed a bomber from Manara Square in the centre of Ramallah, just north of Jerusalem.

 

“We didn't know his name or what he looked like — only that he was in his 20s and would be wearing a red shirt," said the former handler. "We sent the Green Prince to the square and with his acute sense, he located the target within minutes. He saw who picked him up, followed the car and made it possible for us to arrest the suicide bomber and the man who was supposed to give him the belt. So another attack was thwarted, though no one knows about it. No one opens Champagne bottles or bursts into song and dance. This was an almost daily thing for the Prince. He displayed courage, had sharp antennae and an ability to cope with danger."

 

Mr Yousef, who converted from Islam to Christianity a decade ago – in itself, a dangerous act – was arrested by the Israelis in 1996 and within a year had been recruited by Shin Bet, then released to begin working as an informant.

 

Speaking by telephone from California, Mr Yousef told Haaretz he worried that the Israeli Government might release some of the prisoners he helped put behind bars in exchange for Gilad Schalit, a young Israeli soldier abducted by Hamas from the Gaza border more than three years ago.

 

“I wish I were in Gaza now," he said. "I would put on an army uniform and join Israel's special forces in order to liberate Gilad Schalit. If I were there, I could help. We wasted so many years with investigations and arrests to capture the very terrorists that they now want to release in return for Schalit. That must not be done."

[calfoxwc]

I hope he is living under an assumed name, or really is NOT in California... @@

[osusev]

thanks cal I think that will be an interesting read.

 

I watched a frontline program last night which I found VERY interesting. this journalist got himself behind Taliban lines and with their northern commander for about 10 days........ the second half was about Pakistan's public elementary system........'

 

Both segments really demonstrate why we cant conventionally "win"...... you cant win against an ideology and education/economic opportunity in both countries are HEAVILY slanted against us in terms of social understanding and the stronghold that religion has in the region...... Its really sad it is very similar to middle age Europe and the stronghold the Christian church had on the states and populace.

[calfoxwc]

Thanks, Sev, I think it will be a fascinating read, absolutely.

 

The problem is, we left Afghanistan alone, and 9/11 hijackers flourished,

 

and we paid a terrible price.

 

So, we maybe can't transform those countries into western societies or whatever, but we

 

have to stop it from being a terrorist haven again.

 

If we don't fight them and kill them, we die.

[osusev]

Cal it may seem that I hold some liberal positions when it comes to "War"..... but here you and i sort of agree.

 

I do agree that the Taliban let Al queda exist within their borders.... however Al Queda is more pretty global and exist in cells and training camps all over the third world...... You cant bomb everywhere....

 

History in many different cultures demonstrates you cant militarily or economically (christianity is a good example) control or stamp out ideology.

 

The best way to contain ideology is to weaken causation for their adherents to turn their extremism toward you. EVERY time we bomb somewhere we only strengthen their recruiting...... EVERY day we have a military base in their country or region we strengthen them by creating a Us versus them.....

 

You fight Ideology with an equal dose of counter ideology and dont give them the foothold to turn extremism/poverty/low education/occupation against you.

 

really Oil is the ONLY real reason we are in the middle east and we do have the means to leave IF we make a turn into self sustainable transportation. Get rid of the bases over there and truly support the Peaceful Palestinion cause equally.

 

We cant bomb our way out of this ideology/occupation problem in the middle east. I do believe in going after criminals by aggressive non occupation/invasion means.... the Mossad are really good at this. We should have taken a page from the Israeli olympic tragedy.

 

I have ZERO problems with hit squads backed by military resources. That may be barbaric but the world is barbaric.

 

We really need to let the Taliban back into Afghanistan and even welcome them to some degree.... they know we can bomb the crap out of them ANY TIME WE WANT. I LOVE unmanned drone strikes..... We need out of that country just like we need out of Iraq...... Let the Saudi's and their allies help the Iraqi's as a check against the Iranians...... damn it we need to leave.... this winning or losing CONCEPT is killing our kids and spending money we dont have in a occupation we cant sustain.

 

This is like a bad investment.... you dont keep throwing more money at a bad idea... you cut your losses and bring in other investors who can make the bad into good for themselves.

 

Imagine this... we dont spend money on bases and military personnel in that region... we dont spend money on the occupation and war costs...... we back the palestinions fairly...... now we are not occupiers ...... we dont unilaterally support a "zionist" regime...... we turn 20% of our spending into pure economic/ good pr...... they would not really have much causation to recruit against us and we would undermine them...

 

You know WHO is doing just this? RUSSIA AND CHINA........ we are the center focal point...... even though these two countries are consuming the same amount of resources if not more........ seems to be working for them.........

[calfoxwc]

I understand for the most part, and agree. I would love for us to leave those countries. But fighting against them is a recruiting tool?

 

Their criminal terrorist "Islamic" movement has been growing for centuries. It didn't have anything to do with

it being our fault.

 

In ancient Middle East history (one of the few courses in college I LOVED), Mohammed sp? and his army came across

a Jewish settlement. They demanded that they convert to Islam, but of course, the Jews refused, and the army

killed every man, woman and child.

 

It is a severely barbaric version, stolen from a religion that has peaceful millions of followers. It existed NOT because

there was an Israel. There was no Israel.

 

It didn't exist because we went into Iraq, whatever. It existed because it's been around for many centuries.

In Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, belonging to a group/(security), I think, is #3, after food and water, if I recall correctly.

Mankind wants to belong. Belonging comes in the form of joining groups. Some, out of despair, go extremist religious.

 

Some, I guess, like bin laden, start movements out of some warped sense of grandeur, I think.

 

You are right though, I love the drones, the intelligence, and I wish we weren't still having our troops over there.

 

However, the lack of support for the Israelis is more anti-Semitic by the Obamao admin, because he does identify

with Muslims. The Soviets would gladly support Israel, if they had plenty of oil, and could be used as a political lever.

But, that only applies to Iran and Iraq for the most part. for the Russians.

Which makes me think - that a war in the Middle East is going to happen, because hostile Arab countries

are going to take the op to go after them, while a pro-Muslim American pres is in office.

 

One of our troubles, is that the terrorists move everywhere they go with civilains as shields. So, if the worst happens,

it is still the U. S. being undermined, with those civilian casualties.

 

Oh, I don't have many answers, but I have far more of a clue about it all than Obamao. At least I was in the service,

and know what it means to wear the uniform, and I can pronounce "corpsman" properly. @@