One society celebrates life, another glorifies death, says 'Green Prince' Mosab Yousef in first public appearance in Israel

Mosab Hassan Yousef made his first public appearance in Israel on Wednesday night, addressing a crowd of thousands about his personal experience with Hamas, having grown up as the son of its founder, Sheikh Hassan Yousef.

Often called the "Son of Hamas," Mosab has become known for his unique perspective on the inner workings of the terrorist organization as well as his cooperation with the Israelis.

Yousef worked as an informant for Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, earning the nickname the “Green Prince.” During his time with Shin Bet, he played a crucial role in preventing numerous terrorist attacks, helping to save many Israeli lives.

Yousef’s radical shift in perspective on Israel and the Jewish people came after his arrest and time spent in an Israeli prison for his involvement in supporting Palestinian militants and terrorist activities, despite his earlier role as an informant for Israeli security.

His imprisonment stemmed from his changing allegiances and the complex evolution of his political and personal views. During his time in prison, he witnessed firsthand "how the terrorist group operated within its own ranks" as Hamas members tortured fellow prisoners to find out if they were aiding Israel in any way.

When addressing the crowd, Yousef explained that he had "changed his mind" about speaking publicly and had initially asked his publicist to cancel all scheduled appearances. However, due to the extensive advertising campaign and the high level of interest in Israel, he decided to "keep the Tel Aviv engagement on his calendar," which prompted applause and cheers from the audience.

While Yousef didn’t have a clear-cut agenda or theme for the event, it was moderated by Zvi Yehezkeli who helped start and guide the conversation throughout the evening.

True to form, Yousef brought up controversial topics including the existence of the Palestinian people. “They aren’t a people." He has publicly challenged this subject repeatedly on news platforms and global interviews.

Yousef then went on to discuss key differences between Israelis and Hamas leaders.

“They [Israelis] are asking for the release of innocent hostages who have been kidnapped from their living rooms for exchange of such people. Savages – like Ibrahim Hamad and others. One society is doing everything within their ability to save one human life, knowing the consequences of releasing such monsters."

"Another society is celebrating the release of such dangerous people to put them back on the streets to guarantee the continuation of this mad cycle of violence. And the world is confused. They cannot see it for what it is," he continued.

Yousef explained that he knows "from personal experience that there’s no escape from karma and it doesn’t matter from justice if you put him on the moon, karma will hunt him wherever he goes. This is a killer. This is a terrorist. And it doesn’t matter, the rest of his days...this is what he is. But in the meantime, we celebrate the return of our hostages.”

When asked by Yehezkeli, “You’ve been there. You waited outside Ofer prison for your father. You’ve seen firsthand on the street and the atmosphere of what happens when terrorists are released and come back. It’s going to push all the terror back into the street. Ibrahim Hamad – they’re going to release him. What is going to happen?”

Yousef replied by saying, “Look, Yahya Sinwar played more of a gangster role, a ‘tough guy.’ Ibrahim Hamad is much more sophisticated. He is an historian, he’s an intellectual. He’s very quiet. He’s a ghost. As I mentioned we were hunting for the man for eight years in Ramallah. We did not see him for four years. And finally, we picked him up. We got to the point where we arrested him.”

Additionally, Yousef shared his father had asked him to accompany him to pick up some prisoners from the Palestinian Authority (PA). “I drove the car...and we fit five Hamas guys just released from the PA, and Ibrahim Hamad was one of them. And I took them, I drove them to the safe house.”

He went on to explain that everyone was shocked because Hamad already had “a lot of blood on his hands and was not supposed to be released by the PA according to the security coordination.”

Based on Yousef's account, a mere few months later, Hamad “disappeared from the radar and the outcome of that was hundreds of innocent Israelis.” His suggestion in dealing with someone like Hamad and others is "execution."

Yousef explained that Israel is fighting an enemy that “doesn’t value life but instead believes in the afterlife.” He argued that this belief is not a strength, but rather a weakness, as the terrorists fear life, not death. He said he doesn’t respect those who take the lives of innocent civilians on the basis of their love of death.

He remarked, “I don’t respect such a death cult. If you want to die, go die alone. But to choose to kill many innocent people who choose to live, this is not up to you. This is a crime,” he said, referring to the terrorists' distorted strategy.

When asked about how the hostages – soldiers and civilians – have been treated in captivity, Yousef said, “In Israel, Palestinian prisoners receive an education, medication, and the Red Cross visits them and their families. Israel allows them to purchase a cantina, to buy whatever they want...to have access to books – to write books, to publish books. The hostages have been there in Gaza for how long? They did not even allow the Red Cross to see them. How do they treat the hostages? Only God knows.”

Furthermore, the issue of religion has been a hot topic of debate surrounding Yousef. While it has been reported that he converted from Islam to Christianity, that particular topic did not come up during his talk before the Tel Aviv crowd. He merely mentioned he was a “former Muslim.”  He did, however, have some words about the “danger of Islam” and shared his concerns about what is transpiring in Europe as a result of Islamic influences in elections, etc.

Yousef admitted that his views on Islam have caused him issues. He has reportedly said, “Most people don't want to face the truth. When I touch on the religious and ideological aspect of the conflict, which is fundamental – I cannot ignore it - when I say Islam is a problem, many Jewish organizations say ‘wait a moment, he will be considered an Islamophobe, that's not how we want to represent ourselves.’”

Additionally, he spoke candidly to the crowd about his dislike of all politicians including U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I don’t trust them. I trust them less than some radical aggressors,” Yousef said, explaining how all politician are playing a game and don’t really care about their people.

In December, Yousef gave a speech at the University of Oxford and faced significant backlash following a heated debate. To this day, Oxford has not officially released the video of his appearance.

Mosab Hassan Yousef was granted asylum in the United States in 2010, and currently resides in California. He wrote a bestselling book called, "Son of Hamas" that was published the same year he moved to the U.S.