According to the son of a founding Hamas leader, the terrorist organization poses an even greater threat to the world than ISIS, and the mainstream media is reluctant to label Hamas a genocidal religious movement for fear of sparking a religious war.
“It’s their own comparison to say Hamas and ISIS, because I think Hamas is a lot more dangerous,” Mosab Hassan Yousef told FOX & Friends on Monday.
“Look at the division and the global confusion because of Hamas. They brought us to our knees somehow, by their brutality and their barbarism,” he said, referring to the mixed political and cultural response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks—and the ensuing conflict—in many parts of the world.
Student protests erupted on several US college campuses in support of Palestine, with 34 student organizations even signing a letter of support "in solidarity" with Hamas, claiming that Palestine was occupied territory and that Hamas could not be blamed for seeking to "decolonize" it from Israeli rule.
Mr. Yousef, who deserted Hamas in the 1990s and served as a spy for Israel's Shin Bet from 1997 to 2007, claimed that the group should be labeled a terrorist organization that exploits religious divisions.
“They are a waging religious movement against Israel,” he said. “The mainstream media cannot say this, because they are afraid to ignite a religious war.”
“It is a religious situation, and we need to expose them for what they are.”
Mr. Yousef said that Hamas’ religious agenda should not be mistaken for a political one.
“They are not a national movement. If they were a national movement, a political movement, you can satisfy their ambitions somehow—you can negotiate with them,” he said. “But when they are a religious movement, when they don’t believe in political borders … they are driven by dark hatred toward a race, toward a nation.”
“They want to annihilate the Jewish people because they are Jewish people,” Mr. Yousef concluded.
In an interview last week, Mr. Yousef expressed his doubts about Hamas having any sort of sympathy with anyone who didn’t share their views.
“I was born at the heart of Hamas leadership, you know. And I know them very well,” he said. “They don’t care for the Palestinian people. They don’t regard human life. I saw their brutality firsthand back in 1996 when I spent about a year and a half in Megiddo prison. They killed so many Palestinian people at that point.”
Despite being treated "like a prince in that world," his experiences caused him to abandon the organization and even his own family.
He believed that if Hamas were to destroy Israel, they would rule over Palestinians with the same ruthlessness.
Hamas assumed control of the Gaza Strip after being unexpectedly voted to power in 2006, following Israel's disengagement from the territory. Israel declared war on Hamas earlier this month, following the terrorist organization's Oct. 7 surprise strike on southern Israel, which killed over 1,200 Israeli citizens.
Immediately following the raid, Hamas returned over 200 hostages to Gaza.
Mr. Yousef stated that the most difficult impediment to an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza would be Hamas' practice of utilizing civilians—often women and children—as "human shields," as well as the tunnel system from which they operate.
“They used the funds and the aid that came to Gaza—instead of going to the people, they used it to dig tunnels,” he said.
“It’s very hard to deal with this type of suicidal group of fighters who basically don’t appreciate life. They don’t praise life. They [are] actually looking forward to death.”
Mr. Yousef believes Israel is postponing its ground invasion into Gaza because it is gathering more intelligence, a strategy he applauds. "Without intelligence, without information, knowing the tunnel's mouths and Hamas' movement on the ground, it is going to be a very difficult war."
He stated that the annihilation of the Hamas movement should begin with the removal of its infrastructure, including the tunnels. Mr. Yousef warned that Israel should do "whatever it takes" to defeat the terrorist group, including a lengthy siege of Gaza.
“Israel needs to deal with the head of the snake, in Doha, in Beirut, wherever they are. Cut the head of the snake, and let the tail die,” he said.
