A man who was raised by Hamas is among the most ardent supporters of a massive Israel Defense Force campaign to drive the terrorist group out of its final significant bastion in the southernmost city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Regardless of the developments with Iran, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the disowned son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, told The Times of Israel last week that the Israeli government must "finish the job" in Gaza to drive out Hamas. "We must now enter Rafah. Not the following day. Why do we still have to wait? We bring Rafah and Hamas to an end. This will be the first step [toward peace] because it will remove them from power, he remarked.
The 45-year-old was up in Ramallah and has clear memories of Hamas' establishment in 1986. Yousef was dubbed the "Green Prince" decades ago for his attempts to assist Israel's internal security agency, the Shin Bet, in thwarting terror acts during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. The term is also the title of a 2014 documentary based on his autobiography. Though there have been setbacks along the way, he has established a "fundamental relationship" with the Jewish people after saving countless lives during those terrifying days.
He claimed that several people found his scathing criticism of Hamas to be excessively contentious, which ultimately caused him to stop engaging in public activity. But the horrors of October 7 drew him back. On that day, an orgy of violence that included the burning alive of entire families, widespread rape and sexual assault, and the torture and dismemberment of victims who included women, children and infants, and the elderly, saw thousands of terrorists led by Hamas invade southern Israel and slaughter 1,200 people, the most of whom were civilians, with breathtaking brutality. Additionally, 230.3 persons were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip, where 133 are still being kept captive.
For me, October 7 felt like an earthquake, Yousef remarked. "I desired to be alone with myself. My life was quite basic at the time. However, when the lion inside of me awoke that morning, a volcano was ready to erupt. I've decided to put an end to this evil.”
Yousef issued a warning, claiming that Iran's most recent assault on Israel with over 300 drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles was "just a rehearsal." It is unknown to us whether Iran possesses chemical or biological weapons.
Not just against Israel, but on a worldwide scale as well, the Islamic Republic of Iran poses a grave threat. Iran is home to a terrorist state, a dictatorship, and a very reckless religious establishment that is more focused on the hereafter than on this life. He asserted, "They are willing to do it if it means destroying the entire region to further their religious objective. Representative of "hope" against Hamas Yousef has once again gained popularity as a speaker on college campuses after having an interview with British talk show presenter Piers Morgan during the early stages of the Gaza War. However, he is not always met with enthusiasm. Indiana University asked IU Hillel, a Jewish organization, to postpone an event with Yousef in the early months of April due to "security" concerns.
