Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas co-founder Hassan Yousef and once Israel’s most valuable intelligence asset, has declared that a Palestinian state “will never exist,” dismissing it as an “artificial construct.” His intervention comes at a pivotal moment as several Western countries, led by France, formally recognized the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
From Hamas Royalty to Israeli Asset
Yousef’s story is as remarkable as it is controversial. Born into Hamas’s founding family in the West Bank, he grew up immersed in the militant movement and witnessed its violence firsthand. As a teenager, he was jailed for smuggling arms, but in prison he began secretly working for Israel’s Shin Bet security service.
For nearly a decade, under the codename Green Prince, Yousef infiltrated Hamas at the highest levels, passing on intelligence that thwarted suicide bombings and assassinations during the bloody years of the second intifada. He later defected to the United States, becoming a fierce critic of Hamas and what he calls “Palestinianism.”
“Palestinianism is a political, violent movement built on victimhood,” he told The Telegraph. “Self-proclaimed Palestinians are those profiting out of the Palestinian cause. They are the perpetrators. Nowadays I make no distinction between Hamas and Palestinians.”
A Rejection of Identity
Yousef has turned his back on the identity he was born into, insisting that Palestinian nationalism is a “cultish curse” that condemns its people to cycles of violence. He claims that the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel — when Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 — exposed not just Hamas, but wider Palestinian society.
“Most of the atrocities… were committed by Gaza civilians, not Hamas’s Nukhba fighters,” he said. “The truth is, Hamas couldn’t control it.”
He describes both Hamas and Palestinian identity as products of “violence and victimhood” — and argues that Palestinians must abandon this national identity entirely if they are ever to prosper.
His rhetoric extends beyond the Palestinian cause. Using a metaphor of “sheep and shepherds,” Yousef argues that people worldwide are trapped in blind obedience to political or religious leaders. “It feels safe in a herd,” he said, “but the herd is going only in one direction — to the slaughterhouse.”
International Recognition of Palestine
While Yousef calls Palestinian statehood a fantasy, global momentum for recognition is accelerating. Over the weekend, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Portugal announced their recognition of Palestine. On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron formally declared France’s recognition in a landmark speech at the UN.
“The time has come to do justice to the Palestinian people and thus to recognize a state of Palestine,” Macron told world leaders, drawing applause. He argued that recognition is not a concession to Hamas but rather a step to “preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution.”
France joined more than 150 countries that now recognize Palestinian statehood. Macron’s move was backed by several European allies, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and Monaco. Saudi Arabia urged others to follow suit.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a video address, described recognition as a “pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future.”
Israeli and U.S. Rejection
Israel and the United States boycotted the UN session. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed that a Palestinian state “will not happen” west of the Jordan River, describing recognition efforts as “a reward for terrorism.” Some Israeli ministers have floated retaliatory measures, including annexation of West Bank land or closure of French diplomatic offices in Jerusalem.
The White House also criticized the move. Former President Donald Trump warned recognition was “a reward to Hamas” and would not help free the remaining 48 Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
A Divided Narrative
The clash between Yousef’s rejection of Palestinian identity and the growing chorus of international recognition underscores the deep fractures surrounding the conflict.
For Yousef, the war in Gaza — which has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and triggered genocide accusations against Israel at the UN — is proof of the dangers of “Palestinianism.” For Macron and allied leaders, recognition of Palestine is the only way to salvage peace and prevent the two-state solution from collapsing entirely.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the new recognitions, calling for full UN membership and declaring that Hamas “must surrender its weapons.”
As Macron put it: “The recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people takes nothing away from the rights of the people of Israel. The time has come to drive terrorism from this land and build peace.”
But for Mosab Hassan Yousef — once the son of Hamas royalty, now one of its fiercest critics — the very idea of Palestine as a state remains, in his words, a dangerous illusion.
