Hassan Yousef (Hamas leader)

Sheikh
Hassan Yousef
Co-founder and Leader of Hamas in the West Bank
Personal details
Born1955 (age 68–69)
Ramallah, Jordanian West Bank
Political partyHamas
SpouseSabba Abu Salem
Children9 (including Mosab Hassan Yousef)
OccupationHamas co-founder
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Hassan Yousef (born 1955) is a Palestinian militant and co-founder of Hamas who currently serves as organization's leader in the West Bank.

He is considered a member of Hamas' extremist faction and refrains from any talk of rapprochement between Israelis and Palestinians.[1] He is also considered one of the spiritual leaders of Hamas.[2]

Yousef is married to Sabba Abu Salem. They have six sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Mosab Hassan Yousef, worked undercover with Shin Bet from 1997 to 2007 to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians, as he considered such attacks immoral and destructive to the Palestinian cause.[3][4]

On 2 July 2019, Hassan's youngest son Suheib Hassan Yousef appeared in an interview with Israeli television criticizing Hamas and describing it as a corrupt terrorist organization which sparked huge anger from members of Hamas describing him as a traitor and a collaborator and other Hamas-affiliated networks said that he was working with the Mossad which he completely denied.[5]

  1. ^ Avi Issacharoff, Haarez News, 21 June 2006
  2. ^ Caridi, Paola (2012). Hamas: From Resistance to Government. Seven Stories Press. p. 362. ISBN 978-1-60980-382-7.
  3. ^ Elsworth, Catherine; Carolynne Wheeler (August 24, 2008). "Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas leader, becomes a Christian". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  4. ^ Mosab Hassan Yousef (2010). Son of Hamas.
  5. ^ Eglash, Ruth (2019-07-08). "Son of Hamas leader calls the militant movement a 'racist terror organization'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-10-20.