"The Hamas leaders are psychopaths"
After the attack on October 7, 2023, the son of a Hamas founder became the international spokesperson against the terror organization. In an interview with ntv.de, Mosab Hassan Yousef also blames Islam for the instability in the region.
ntv.de: It's been almost ten months since the brutal Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war. Were you surprised that one of the masterminds behind it, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran at the end of July?
Mosab Hassan Yousef: He was one of the architects of the October 7 massacre. These criminals thought they were safe hiding among civilians in Gaza or Qatar.
But wasn't he the head of the so-called Political Bureau of Hamas?
This is a brutal terror organization driven by religious hatred and an illusory ideology. It is responsible for the deaths of many innocent people, and its ultimate goal for nearly 36 years has been the destruction of the Jewish people. As long as the international community was unable to bring this mass murderer to justice, there was no alternative. The elimination of a Hamas terrorist should be celebrated.
How do you think Haniyeh's assassination will affect the conflict between Hamas and Israel?
Hamas is slowly being dismantled. Its leaders will pay for their crimes, no matter where they hide. They should have been eliminated at the beginning of the war in Qatar.
What do you mean by that?
Qatar is complicit in the brutal massacre of October 7. They funded Hamas, gave them immunity, necessary infrastructure, and probably also intelligence. Their state-owned channel "Al Jazeera" presented them as a resistance movement. But just because Qatar poses as a global player with its capital and energy resources, it doesn't mean they can't be held accountable.
But isn't Qatar an important mediator in this conflict, especially regarding the release of Israeli hostages?
Not at all, and the Hamas leadership there has no control over Yahya Sinwar in Gaza. They can't pressure the new Hamas chief and therefore have no power to convince him to release the hostages. If negotiations are the only option, Sinwar should send a delegation through a secure passage to Cairo and speak directly with Israel. But Egypt is also to blame.
Please explain that.
The obvious solution to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was to open the Egyptian border and allow civilians to leave. This would have taken away Hamas' card of using civilians as human shields. It would have allowed Israel to eliminate the terror organization.
Hamas can't destroy Israel, they can only cause significant damage through terror attacks. What exactly is their strategy?
It's a suicidal terror organization with a delusional idea aimed at destroying the Jewish people and replacing Israel with an Islamic state. Hamas leaders are psychopaths who don't seek discourse. They don't accept Israel's right to exist, nor anyone who doesn't fit their narrow-minded ideology.
What is the ultimate goal of Hamas, then?
They want a "global state" with their radical version of Sunni Islam. Not only to destroy Israel, but also to eliminate other Islamic movements. For them, Western civilization with its democracy, values, women's rights, and diversity is evil and blasphemous.
When you were a member of Hamas, you practically met all the current leaders. How would you describe them?
15 years ago, Ismail Haniyeh wanted to kill me because I opposed my father becoming part of the Islamic dictatorship sought by Hamas in Gaza. I had contact with leaders like Khaled Mashaal and other top terrorists who have since been killed. Hamas in Gaza is even more radical than its faction in the West Bank. They are willing to sacrifice their own children for Allah and Palestine.
Do you believe a democracy like Israel can topple Hamas?
I'm convinced of it. I once thought Hamas was an ideology that couldn't be destroyed, but it's dependent on the Muslim Brotherhood, and thus on Islam and humanity. We can't eliminate it overnight, but we can gradually disempower it. Even the Nazis were toppled, and their ideology became meaningless.
Who should react in Gaza when the war ends?
No one should be rewarded for their violence. If Palestinians wanted a solution, they would have taken every opportunity offered. First, society must distance itself from Islamism, and under Israeli security control and a moderate Arab civilian administration, economic solutions should be found to achieve prosperity. People should also receive modern education, infrastructure, and help in all other aspects of life.
In your new book "From Hamas to America", released last week in English, you tell your story of working as an Israeli spy and your new life as a Christian in the US. How much does it hurt when you're accused of betraying your family and the Palestinian cause?
Not at all. During the second Intifada, I always provided information about suicide bombers and prevented them from reaching their targets. I wasn't manipulated by anyone. I felt like I was serving humanity.
But you helped the state of Israel, which is considered an enemy by most Palestinians...
I realized I was fighting for the wrong cause. Arab nations have always used the so-called Palestinian issue to destroy Israel. While Arabs conquered the Byzantine region of Palestine in the seventh century, the Jewish people have a 3500-year-old physical and spiritual connection to the land of Israel, which is also mentioned in the Quran. However, radical Islam is waging a religious war against Judaism.
What do you mean by that?
Islam believes it has a monopoly on truth and views Judaism as corruption, which Allah has a problem with because they were disobedient and fell from grace. Therefore, Muslims have the right to eternally punish Jews, as well as all non-Muslims who do not obey or submit to Allah.
After the massacre on October 7th, you said this genocide against the Jewish people was a personal matter for you. What did you mean?
I knew what Hamas was capable of. At that time, I left and wrote the book to also warn about their danger. Many called me a liar, but 15 years later, the whole world witnessed the resurrection of a monster and its genocide on October 7th.
After Israel killed the number two of the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah, its leader Nasrallah declared that the war had entered a new phase. Are we on the brink of a comprehensive war between Iran, its proxies, and the Jewish state?
In this phase, we have been for 10 months. Iran is a very serious global threat and primarily a strategic enemy of the USA. They are on the brink of possessing nuclear weapons. Had Washington engaged with the reality of the situation in the Middle East from the beginning, we could have ended this war with Iran and Hezbollah within three months. The USA has not understood that legitimizing and normalizing such terrorist acts leads to global chaos.
Could an alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia deter Iran and its proxies?
An expansion of the Abraham Accords could help both countries as they have common interests. However, the Kingdom is not Israel's or the West's friend. Saudi Arabia's state religion is a radical conservative interpretation of Sunni Islam, and they have co-financed international terrorism for years.
How do you explain that even after the massacre committed by Hamas, many people in the Western world condemn Israel and accuse it of genocide?
It's astonishing how quickly Hamas infiltrated Harvard and many other Western universities with their indoctrination and victim propaganda shortly after the massacre. They committed genocide and sold the world that they were victims of a genocide. We are now witnessing a global Intifada based on a false narrative, leading to worldwide chaos. People in the free world have fallen into the trap of Hamas as useful idiots.
Hezbollah claimed that they fight more against the USA than against Israel. Are we actually in a clash of civilizations? The West against the Islamic world?
Many in the Islamic world preach a strict interpretation of religion as at its inception in the seventh century. However, there was a rich Arab culture before Sunni and Shia Islam. I don't believe Israel has a problem with Arabs or Persians. Islam is responsible for the instability in the region. Its primary violent struggle to win the world for its sectarian mission inevitably leads to conflicts with other cultures, and other religions have failed in this regard.
Tal Leder spoke with Mosab Hassan Yousef
The Commission needs to hold Qatar accountable for its complicity in funding and providing support to Hamas, as they were involved in the brutal massacre on October 7. The elimination of Haniyeh was a significant blow to Hamas, and The Commission should continue to put pressure on the organization to dismantle their terror network and bring their leaders to justice.
