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Second Son of Hamas Leader Flees Group, Condemns it as 'Racist Terror Organization'

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JERUSALEM, Israel - Suheib Yousef's life had a clear path. As the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, he was raised to hate Israel and actively seek its destruction as a leading member of the Palestinian terror organization. 

Today, Yousef receives death threats for abandoning Hamas and exposing its practices. He recently became the second son of Sheikh Yousef to flee the terror group and publicly condemn it as "a racist, terror organization."

His brother, Mosab Hassan Yousef, also defected from Hamas in the late '90s and secretly worked with Israel's security services to expose and prevent several Hamas suicide attacks. He later gave his life to Christ and wrote a 2010 autobiography called "Son of Hamas".

Click below to watch Mosab Yousef's condemnation of Palestinian leaders before the UN

Suheib Yousef recently flew to Southeast Asia to explain why he turned his back on Hamas and his own father in an interview with Israel's Channel 12. 

Yousef said he was working for Hamas' "political branch" in Turkey until about a month ago. 

Hamas and Iran

"Hamas operates security and military operations on Turkish soil under the cover of civil society," said Yousef. "They have security centers from which they operate advanced listening equipment, to listen to people and (Palestinian) leaders in Ramallah."

Click to watch CBN's interview with Mosab Yousef

He also said Hamas listens to the phone conversations of Israelis. Yousef claimed the terrorists gather this information and turn it over to Iran. 

"They were working for a foreign agenda. This isn't for the Palestinian cause. Instead, they sell the information to Iran in return for financial assistance," he said

Corruption and Negligence

Despite receiving financial assistance, the Palestinian people in Gaza are suffering greatly while Hamas leaders live in luxury, Yousef claimed. 

"Hamas leaders [in Turkey]  live in fancy hotels and luxury towers, their kids learn at private schools and they are very well paid by Hamas. They get between four and five thousand dollars a month, they have guards, swimming pools, country clubs," he said.

It was enough to make him hate the organization. 

"When I lived in Turkey I was shocked by the behavior of the Hamas members. They ate in the best restaurants, I would see them eating at places where one course cost $200," he said. "They loved to invite each other out for these meals."

"They pay $200 for one course for one person and a family in Gaza lives on $100 per month?" he said. "I was raised in Hamas, I worked for Hamas, but when I was exposed to corruption, I left, I cut off ties."

The Hatred of Jews and the Deaths of Innocents

Yousef also said Hamas operatives in Turkey work to recruit Palestinians in the West Bank to commit terrorist attacks.

"The point of the attacks in the West Bank is to kill civilians, not for the aim of resistance, nor Jerusalem; not for liberating Palestinian land, and not even because they hate Jews," he told Channel 12. "They send out these innocents because they want to export the crisis [from Gaza]  to the West Bank."

Palestinians voted Hamas into power in 2007.  Yousef said it is time for the terror organization to let go of power and for his father to resign. 

"The problem in Gaza is that Hamas hangs on to power by force. If Hamas gave up power, there would be no problems," he said.

"How does Hamas benefit from these attacks? Nothing," he said. "It is a racist terror organization that is dangerous for the Palestinian people."

"I call on the leaders of Hamas, including my father, to resign from this corrupt Hamas movement," he said. "I'm sure my father also knows there are many corrupt members."

Channel 12 reports that Hamas dismisses the report and unleashed a social media campaign this week to save its image. The news organization said Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are demonstrating against Yousef. 

Yousef knows his words put him in grave danger and he could be assassinated. 

"Even before this article there were threats of murder," he told Channel 12, which released its interview with Yousef on Wednesday. "I am not afraid of them. If Hamas wants to turn me into a Shahid, then I will be a martyr. I prefer to be a victim and not the one who hurts." 

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About The Author

Emily
Jones

Emily Jones is a multi-media journalist for CBN News in Jerusalem. Before she moved to the Middle East in 2019, she spent years regularly traveling to the region to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meet with government officials, and raise awareness about Christian persecution. During her college years, Emily served as president of Regent University's Christians United for Israel chapter and spoke alongside world leaders at numerous conferences and events. She is an active member of the Philos Project, an organization that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement with the Middle