The son of a Hamas co-founder has spoken out against pro-Palestinian activists in the United States, calling them “useful idiots.”
Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, appeared in ‘Dr. Phil Primetime’ on April 2 to discuss two University of Michigan student advocates.
Yousef is originally from Ramallah and fought as a Palestinian militant before defecting to Israel in 1997 and working as a spy for the Shin Bet intelligence wing.
“It’s very disappointing to see Americans supporting Hamas and thinking that Hamas is a great thing… while those followers don’t know that Hamas would torture and slaughter them mercilessly,” he said.
‘They call them useful idiots. They don’t know that Hamas is a dark black hole.’
Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, called pro-Palestinian activists “useful idiots”
Yousef, a former Palestinian militant turned Israeli spy, appeared in ‘Dr. Phil Primetime’ on April 2 to debate student activists at the University of Michigan
He claimed that advocates “don’t know what they are supporting,” and described Hamas as a “black hole.”
Yousef further stated that those on the pro-Palestinian side “don’t know what they are supporting,” considering that Hamasa monster that has been kidnapping an entire society and endangering the entire Middle East, pushing the world towards a global war.’
The defector, who earned the nickname ‘The Green Prince’ and was the subject of a documentary of the same name in 2014, said he based his knowledge on his time in prison with Hamas leaders.
Unlike students in the program, he continued, “I was born there and I’m part of that culture, part of that religion.”
“Some people hear about Hamas, or see the avatar of a Hamas fighter carrying a rifle, a freedom fighter, and they think it’s a neat idea to support such a monster.”
One student accused the former Hamas member of pushing “colonial rhetoric.”
But Yousef responded by claiming that the students were speaking “on the authority of Hamas propaganda.”
He pointed out the fact that the three students were wearing the keffiyeh, a traditional black and white Palestinian scarf.
Actually, you don’t know what Palestine is. In fact, the keffiyeh she wears is just a statement to show that she truly lacks authenticity to represent the case,’ she professed.
‘There is a Hamas tribe, and there is the Islamic Jihad tribe… and each has different interests, and they are all in conflict. If they did not have Israel as a common enemy, they would kill each other. This is the reality.’
Yousef pointed to the traditional keffiyeh worn by several attendees, stating that the students lacked “authenticity” to speak in support of Palestine.
One student accused the former Hamas member of pushing “colonial rhetoric.” But Yousef responded by claiming that the young activists were echoing Hamas “propaganda.”
The son of Hamas’s co-founder claimed that Palestine was made up of two warring factions, a “Hamas tribe” and an “Islamic Jihad tribe”, who would kill each other if not for their common enemy, Israel.
Regarding pro-Palestinian activists in the United States, the former Israeli spy declared: “Those pro-Palestinian people need to go to a mental hospital.”
Yousef’s comments came amid growing outrage over Israel’s killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers on April 1.
Among the seven killed in the airstrike was Jacob Flickinger, 33, who held dual American and Canadian citizenship.
Following the deadly airstrike, President Joe Biden arranged a 30-minute phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“President Biden underscored that attacks on humanitarian workers and the broader humanitarian situation are unacceptable,” read a statement issued by the White House on April 4.
“It made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete and measurable measures to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of humanitarian workers.”
During the call, Biden ‘underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude without delay an agreement to bring the hostages to house’, according to the statement
More than 33,000 Palestinians had been killed and nearly 76,000 injured in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas as of Sunday.
Israel faced global condemnation after an airstrike that claimed the lives of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers.
In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe Biden denounced the deaths and urged Israel to consider the humanitarian suffering.
The president’s stance marked an abrupt departure from his administration’s strong support for Israel’s war efforts.
On Thursday night, the Israeli security cabinet had approved those three measures to increase humanitarian aid entering the besieged Gaza Strip.
As of Sunday, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 76,000 injured in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The Hamas attack on October 7 claimed the lives of 1,139 Israelis, and dozens of them remain captive.
In a series of interviews with American media in October 2023, Yousef warned that his father and Hamas would not be satisfied with taking territorial Palestine alone.
‘They are a religious movement, this is what everyone is afraid to say. If Hamas were a political movement, we could satisfy its political ambition,” he told Jake Tapper on CNN.
“But Hamas is a religious movement that does not believe in political borders: it wants to establish an Islamic state on the rubble of the State of Israel.”