Son of Hamas founder avoids deportation
Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a founder of Hamas, will not be deported and may now apply for U.S. asylum.
Yousef was stunned when he found out in the immigration court that the Department of Homeland Security had changed their minds and withdrew their case, Fox News said.
Yousef’s father, Sheik Hassan Yousef, is a founder of Hamas, a Palestinian terror group that wants a strict Islamic law to be imposed in Palestine and Israel, the Washington Times said.
The elder Hamas is now in prison in Israel. Yousef converted to Christianity and spied for Israel’s Shin Bet for 10 years before moving to the U.S., the Washington Times said.
His Shin Bet handler, Gonen Ben-Itzhak went to San Diego to testify on Yousef’s behalf and said that Yousef saved Israeli and American lives as an informant, the Washington Times said.
The U.S. Jewish community backed Yousef, as did members of Israel’s parliament and some members from the U.S. Congress. Letters were sent to Attorney General Eric H. Holder noting that if Yousef were deported to the Middle East, his conversion to Christianity and work with Shin Bet would put him in grave danger, The Washington Times said.
The DHS did not give a reason for withdrawing their case. However it is believed that congressional support, public pressure, media and testimony from Yousef’s handler were the reasons, Fox News said.
Fox noted that they had aired their exclusive interview with Itzhak the day before the DHS withdrawal.
Yousef said he was pleased with the court’s decision, and he plans to continue to speak publicly against terrorism and Islam. He also said he would like to expose the ideological dimension of terrorists, and raise the security awareness of Americans, The Washington Times said.
He also said he felt he had a “responsibility to my own people,” noting, “They are deceived because they think they have the right to kill innocent people or kill anyone,” The Washington Times said.
Of his Christian faith Yousef said, “When we talk about God’s grace and unconditional love, I believe that if people believe in these concepts, the world will be better. You don’t have to believe in Christianity to believe in love and God’s grace. But it is good to share with others something that I believe has been good for my life,” The Washington Times said.