- i24NEWS
- Middle East
- Israeli forces arrest Hamas leader in West Bank
Israeli forces arrest Hamas leader in West Bank
Father of the 'Green Prince' has spent close to 15 years in Israeli jails
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![Hassan Youssef, l'un des principaux chefs du Hamas en Cisjordanie, le 10 juin 2014 à son bureau à Ramallah](https://cdn.i24news.tv/upload/image/afp-02009809dd529f2b2a5c097fd93c944bc40356d2.jpg?width=1000)
Israeli forces arrested a prominent Hamas leader in the West Bank early on Tuesday morning, according to multiple reports in the Palestinian and Israeli press.
Sheikh Hassan Yousef was arrested at his home in Beitunia, near Ramallah. There were no statements as to the reasons of the detention.
Hamas condemned the arrest on Tuesday morning, calling him "one of the advocates of national unity supporting the resistance project."
"Sheikh Yusef will remain a torch for joint national action and a free voice for the people of Palestine, who have not known peace and quiet under the most difficult circumstances," the statement said.
Israeli forces conduct overnight arrests routinely. According to a statement released on Tuesday morning, they arrested 12 during the night between Monday and Tuesday, on suspicion of "violent disturbances and terror against soldiers and civilians."
Violence erupted later, at dawn, during an operation to arrest three brothers at the Qalandiya checkpoint, close to Sheikh Hassan Yousef's home. A Palestinian man, named as Mohammed Adwan, 23, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers.
https://x.com/i/web/status/1112950869929156608
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- Fighter turned politician, now a perpetual inmate -
Hassan Yousef is one of the major figures of the Islamist movement in the West Bank. A visible leader of the movement during the Second Intifada, he eventually became an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the de facto parliament of the Palestinians.
Elections for the PLC were last held in 2007, but the institution was rendered effectively useless by political rivalries and movement restrictions between Gaza and the West Bank. Many of the representatives were also prevented from sitting due to Israeli detention.
President Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the Hamas-dominated PLC in December 2018, in a move that was widely seen as attempting to weaken Hamas's political legitimacy.
Hassan Yousef is no stranger to Israeli jails, having spent around 15 years in prison, including most of the last three years.
He was last arrested in December 2017 for “advancing and promoting Hamas activities,” according to Israel's interior security service, the Shin Bet, and was held in administrative detention for 10 months.
Administrative detention is a legal instrument which allows Israeli authorities to hold a prisoner without trial for renewable six-months period. As of Februrary 2019, 495 Palestinians were in administrative detention in Israel.
- Father of the Green Prince -
Sheikh Hassan Yousef is also known internationally for being the father of Mosab Hassan Yousef, a Palestinian agent for the Shin Bet.
Mosab is Hassan Yousef's eldest son, and used to be his right-hand man. He was the subject of the documentary 'The Green Prince,' and has been used repeatedly by pro-Israeli organization as a different Palestinian voice - including by testifying at the UN.
https://x.com/i/web/status/1066979823367663617
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Sheikh Hassan Yousef has disowned his son. Mosab now lives in the United States.