“Son of Hamas” by Mosab Hassan Yousef and Ron Brackin

Mentioning this book out of sequence because it is highly topical in the context of the current events in Palestine in October 2023 and doubts/conflicting reports over who really created and controls ‘Hamas’.

A few years ago I was lent a copy of “Son of Hamas” by Mosab Hassan Yousef (with Ron Brackin – ghost writer) to read on recommendation.

Mosab Hassan Yousef identifies himself as the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founder and spiritual leader of Hamas.

I read this before I had ever had any insights or thoughts one way or the other about ‘Palestine’ and certainly years before the current events.

The book starts out with a blood-curdling description of how he [Mosab] was treated by the Israelis (gets your sympathy for the underdog against the bad guys) but then skilfully turns the narrative by describing how much WORSE the Palestinians are to their own kind.

Here are some of passages that started to raise some red flags …

“Two weeks later, on September 11, nineteen Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four jetliners in the United States. Two crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. Another crashed into the Pentagon in Washington. And the fourth went down in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.”

“The [Park Hotel] explosion killed 30 people and wounded about 140 others. Some were Holocaust survivors.”

“On March 29, I checked into the City Inn Hotel on Nablus Road in Al-Bireh, where the BBC, CNN, and the rest of the international media were housed.”

“[…] I told them. “They’re New York Times best sellers. [] They’re just stories about human experiences.””

“[…]  that same month I started a job in the Capacity-Building Office of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Village Water and Sanitation Program, headquartered in Al-Bireh. Long title, I know, but then again, it was a very important project.”

“My job with USAID gave me a certain amount of protection and freedom as well. And the Shin Bet always had my back.”

A couple of videos with the author speaking …

·              Mosab Yousef explains the steps that led him to leaving Hamas

·              "Son Of Hamas" aka "Green Prince" speaks at Jerusalem Post 2016 Conference

Mosab Yousef also writes:

“Yasser Arafat made it clear that he wanted to be a hero who was written about in the history books. But as I watched him, I often thought, Yes, let him be remembered in our history books, not as a hero, but as a traitor who sold out his people for a ride on their shoulders. As a reverse Robin Hood, who plundered the poor and made himself rich.  As a cheap ham, who bought his place in the limelight with Palestinian blood.”