Hassan Yousef is a co-founder of Hamas. He currently serves as one of their leaders in the West Bank. He is considered a member of Hamas' extremist faction, though he refrains from any talk of rapprochement between Israel and the Palestinians. He is also considered one of the spiritual leaders of Hamas. Yousef is married to Sabba Abu Salem. They have six sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Mosab Hassan Yousef, became a Christian and worked with Shin Bet to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians, as he considered such attacks immoral and destructive to the Palestinian cause. He got disowned by his father but is considered a hero by many Americans as well as Israelis. In July 2nd, 2019 Hassan's youngest sonSuhib Hassan Yousef appeared in an interview with Israeli T.V. criticizing Hamas and describing it as a corrupt terrorist organization which sparked huge anger from members of Hamas describing him as a traitor and a collaborator, and other Hamas affiliated networks said that he was working with the Israeli Mossad which completely deny.
Politics
Yousef has been arrested by the Israeli authorities several times, starting from 1993. He became the visible leader of the Second Intifada. According to the Palestinian Information Center, Yousef has spent over 23 years in Israeli prisons. While in jail in 2005, Yousef was nominated to represent Hamas during the elections. This was against his will, as he did not think that Hamas should become a political party. He was initially unwilling to accept the nomination, but eventually agreed, when he found out that his eldest son had received death threats. On October 19, 2015, during the ongoing Palestinian unrest, Israel Defense Forcesraided Yousef's home in Beitunia in the West Bank and arrested him, accusing him of inciting violence. He was released on August 31, 2017. A few months later, in December he was again arrested by Israeli authorities and held until October 2018. On 2 April, 2019, Israeli authorities again arrested Yousef and held him until July 23, 2020. Each time he was held in Administrative detention, meaning incarceration without trial or charge.
