Israel's Top Informant for a Decade Was Son of Hamas Founder

Just a quick one to get back into the blogging groove.

The son of one of Hamas' founders served as a top informant for Israel for more than a decade, providing top-secret intelligence that helped prevent dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, dubbed as "the Green Prince" by his handlers, was one of the Shin Bet security service's most valuable sources, Israel's Haaretz daily said. His reports led to the arrests of several high-ranking Palestinian figures during the violent Palestinian uprising that began in 2000, according to the newspaper.

Yousef's father—Sheik Hassan Yousef—was a founding member of the Islamic militant group Hamas in the 1980s. He is currently serving a six-year sentence in an Israeli prison for his political activities.

The younger Yousef converted to Christianity and moved to California in 2007.

If the Haaretz report is true, the revelation would deal another setback to Hamas, which is reeling from the assassination of a top operative in Dubai last month. There have been reports that a Hamas insider assisted the killers.

Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri told a Gaza Web site that he would not address the younger Yousef's claims, and accused Haaretz of "fabrications and lies."

You might be thinking it's disinformation, but the guy is publishing a memoir about his exploits.

posted by Ace at 12:04 PM

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