Sherut haBitachon haKlali (Hebrew: שירות הביטחון הכללי‎, General Security Service), better known by the acronym Shabak (Hebrew: שב״כ‎, IPA: [ʃaˈbak] ( listen), Arabic: شاباك‎), in English as the Israel Security Agency (ISA) or the Shin Bet (a two-letter Hebrew abbreviation of the name), is Israel's internal security service. Its motto is "Magen VeLo Yera'e" (Hebrew: מגן ולא יראה‎, lit. "Defender that shall not be seen" or "The unseen shield"). It is one of three principal organizations of the Israeli Intelligence Community, alongside Aman (military intelligence) and the Mossad (foreign intelligence service).

Organization[link]

Shabak is believed to have three operational wings^[2]

• The Arab Affairs Department: responsible primarily for Arab related counter-terrorism activities in both Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
• The Non Arab Affairs Department: responsible for non-Arab security issues and cooperation with foreign security agencies, previously concerned with the Communist Bloc.
• The Protective Security Department: responsible for protecting high-value individuals and locations in the country such as government officials, embassies, airports, and research facilities.

Although a security agency, it is not a part of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, and its chief answers directly to the Prime Minister of Israel.

Duties and roles[link]

Shabak's duties are Safeguarding state security, exposing terrorist rings, interrogating terror suspects, providing intelligence for counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, counter-espionage, personal protection of senior public officials, securing important infrastructure and government buildings, and safeguarding Israeli airlines and overseas embassies.

History[link]

With the Israeli declaration of independence in 1948, the Shabak was founded as a branch of the Israel Defense Forces and was initially headed by Isser Harel (the father of Israeli Intelligence, who later headed the Mossad). Responsibility for Shabak activity was later moved from the IDF to the office of the prime minister. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Shabak's responsibilities included only internal security affairs. Later its responsibilities were extended to counter-espionage and surveillance.^{[citation needed]}

One of the Shabak's leading successes was obtaining a copy of the secret speech made by Nikita Khrushchev in 1956, in which he denounced Stalin. A Polish edition of the speech was provided to the Israeli embassy in Warsaw by the boyfriend of the secretary of a Polish communist official. The Shabak's Polish liaison officer conveyed the copy to Israel. The Israeli government then decided to share the information with the United States, which published it with Israeli approval.^{[citation needed]}

A notable achievement in counter-espionage was the 1961 capture of Israel Beer, who was revealed to be a Soviet spy. Beer was a Lieutenant Colonel in the reserves, a senior security commentator and close friend of Ben-Gurion and reached high Israeli circles. Beer was tried and sentenced to ten years in prison (later extended by the Supreme Court to fifteen years, following his appeal), where he died. That year, Kurt Sita, a Christian German from the Sudetenland and a professor in the Technion, was revealed as a Czechoslovakian spy.^{[citation needed]}

Medal given to Shabak workers on the 40th anniversary of the state of Israel, 1988

In 1967, an Egyptian-Israeli double agent, Rif'at al Gamal/Jacques Bitton, gave Egypt false information about Israel's battle plans, claiming it would begin with ground operations. The Egyptians thus left their aircraft on open runways, which enabled the Israel Air Force to knock out Egypt's air force within three hours of the outbreak of the Six-Day War. ^[3] Operation Yated, as it was later known, is considered one of the most successful deceptions in Israeli intelligence history, on a par with Britain's Operation Mincemeat during World War II.^[4]

After the war, monitoring terrorist activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip become a major part of Shabak's mission. During 1984–1986, Shabak experienced a major crisis following the Kav 300 affair in which two terrorists who hijacked a bus and took hostages were executed without trial by Shabak officers, who later covered up the event and conspired to frame a senior IDF officer.^[5] Following the affair, Shabak head Avraham Shalom was forced to resign.

The Landau Commission, set up to investigate Shabak interrogation methods, criticized the organization and established guidelines to regulate what forms of physical pressure could be used on prisoners.

In 1995, the Shin Bet failed to protect the Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli radical Yigal Amir. Shin Bet had discovered Amir's plans, and a Shin Bet agent was sent to monitor Amir, and reported that Amir was not a threat. Following the assassination, the Shabak director, Carmi Gillon, resigned preemptively. Later, the Shamgar Commission pointed to serious flaws in the personal security unit. Another source of embarrassment and criticism was the violent, provocative and inciting behavior of Avishai Raviv, an informer of the Shabak's Jewish Unit during the time leading up to the assassination.^[6] Later, Raviv was acquitted of the charges that he encouraged Yigal Amir to kill Yitzhak Rabin.

A few months after the Rabin assassination, Hamas chief bombmaker Yahya Ayyash was assassinated in a targeted killing in which an explosive device was planted in his cellular phone.^[7]

Gillon was replaced by Israeli Navy admiral Ami Ayalon, who helped to restore the organizational morale, after the debacle of the Rabin assassination and rehabilitate its public image.^[8]

In 2000, Ayalon was replaced by Avi Dichter, an ex-Sayeret Matkal commando and an experienced Shabak agent, tightened the working relationship with the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police. Dichter was in charge when the al-Aqsa Intifada erupted. He turned Shabak into a prominent player in the war on terrorism after the collapse of the 2000 Camp David Summit.

In November 2003, four former heads of Shin Bet (Avraham Shalom, Yaakov Peri, Carmi Gillon and Ami Ayalon) called upon the Government of Israel to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.^[9]

In May 2005, Dichter was replaced by Yuval Diskin.

Information gathering and interrogation methods[link]

Shabak also extracts information by interrogating suspects, and there is a history of concern over its methods. In 1987, after complaints about excessive use of violence, the Landau Commission drew up guidelines condoning "moderate physical pressure" when necessary, but in 1994, State Comptroller Miriam Ben-Porat found that these regulations were violated and senior GSS commanders did not prevent it.^[10] Later, in 1999, the Israeli Supreme Court heard several petitions against Shabak methods, including (1) "forceful and repeated shaking of the suspect's upper torso, in a manner which causes the neck and head to swing rapidly," (2) manacling of the suspect in a painful "Shabach position" for a long period of time, (3) the "frog crouch" consisting of "consecutive, periodical crouches on the tips of one's toes," and other methods. The Court ruled that Shabak did not have the authority, even under the defense of "necessity," to employ such methods.^[11]

Shabak claims it now uses only psychological means, although B'Tselem and Amnesty International continue to accuse Shabak of employing physical methods that amount to torture under international conventions.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Shabak has also worked closely with the Israeli Air Force in "targeted killings" of field commanders and senior leaders of Palestinian militant factions^[16] of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and Fatah. These killings, are usually done by helicopter gunships, where both IAF commanders and Shabak agents sit together in the command center monitoring the operation. Shabak's task is to give intelligence when and where the target will be available for a strike and then reacting to IAF drone feedback and ensuring the men on the site are indeed the correct targets.

Visibility[link]

Once considered a commitment to lifelong anonymity and even invisibility in Israeli society, today a Shabak agent who achieves high rank in the service, especially the director, is considered a candidate for membership in the top brass of the Israeli government and business community. This process follows a trend started by ex-generals and colonels of the Israel Defense Forces, the trailblazers including Moshe Dayan, Ariel Sharon, and Yitzhak Rabin. In the Shabak and the foreign intelligence Mossad service, the trend showed up much later (during the mid-1990s), even though Isser Harel (who served as head of both services) and Meir Amit of the Mossad both served as lawmakers.

Ex-Shabak directors today are increasingly visible as candidates for higher office. Yaakov Peri became the chairman of Bank HaMizrahi in 2002, and also became a highly visible guest on television programs. Carmi Gillon serves as Chairman of the Local Council of Mevaseret Zion, a Jerusalem suburb, while Avi Dichter and Ami Ayalon were at one time leading candidates for defense minister (Dichter for the Kadima party formed by prime minister Ariel Sharon, Ayalon on the Labour party ticket). Dichter eventually became Minister of Internal Security in the government led by Ehud Olmert. Ayalon has attracted widespread following as a co-initiator with Palestinian dignitary Sari Nusseibeh of the non-governmental Peoples' Voice initiative to petition the governments in Israel and the Palestinian Authority for a permanent settlement.

In 2007, the service launched its first ever public recruitment drive, unveiling a "slick Web site" and buying on-line ads in Israel and abroad in a campaign aimed at "attract[ing] top-tier computer programmers" to its "cutting-edge" IT division. On March 18, 2008, it was announced that Shabak's official website would also offer a blog, where four of its agents would discuss anonymously how they were recruited, and what sort of work they perform; they would also answer questions sent in by members of the public.^[17] The decision to launch the blog was made by the Shin Bet's top brass, including head Yuval Diskin, and is part of an attempt to attract hi-tech workers to the agency's growing IT department. According to Shabak officers, the Web site and blog are aimed also at promoting a more accessible and positive public image for the secret service, long associated with "dark, undercover and even violent activity".^[18]

Shin Bet directors[link]

• Isser Harel (1948–1952)
• Izi Dorot (1952–1953)
• Amos Manor (1953–1963)
• Yossef Harmelin (1964–1974)
• Avraham Ahituv (1974–1981)
• Avraham Shalom (1981–1986)
• Yossef Harmelin (1986–1988)
• Yaakov Peri (1988–1994)
• Carmi Gillon (1995–1996)
• Ami Ayalon (1996–2000)
• Avi Dichter (2000–2005)
• Yuval Diskin (2005–2011)
• Yoram Cohen (2011–)

See also[link]

• Israel Security Forces
• Israel Border Police
• Yamam
• Security agency

References[link]

External links[link]

• Shin Bet website (English)
• Shin Bet (FAS)
• Knesset said "No" to Shabak
• Yousef, Mosab Hassan (March 3, 2010). Son of Hamas. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House. p. 288. ISBN 978-1-4143-3307-6. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Son-of-Hamas/Mosab-Hassan-Yousef/e/9781414333076/?itm=1&USRI=mosab+hassan+yousef+%22son+of+hamas%22. 

v t e Intelligence agencies and organizations of Israel Intelligence Community: Military Intelligence Directorate · Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations · Security Agency · Police Defense Forces: Air Intelligence Directorate · Naval Intelligence Division · Intelligence Corps · Combat Intelligence Corps Defunct: Liaison Bureau · Scientific Relations Bureau

Look up shin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Shin may refer to:

• Shinbone, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates
• Shin (letter), the twenty-first letter in many Semitic alphabets
• Shin (Chinese name) (Chinese: 新), origin of Shin (Xin) name, which means "new"
• Shin, Korean dialect of Shen(申, 愼)
• Shin, Korean dialect of surname Xin(辛)
• Shin (Japanese name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese given name
• Shin (Korean name) (Hangul: 신, Hanja: 申, 辛, 愼), a Korean family name
• Shin Buddhism, a widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, named after its founder, Shinran
• Shin of Hindukush‎, people from the Hindukush
• River Shin, a river in the Scottish Highlands
• Shin Corporation, one of the largest conglomerates in Thailand

Given name[link]

• Shin (singer) (蘇見信), a Taiwanese Mandopop rock singer and former lead singer of Shin (band)
• Shin (band) (信樂團), a Taiwanese Mandopop rock band
• Shin, the drummer of the German visual kei group Cinema Bizarre
• Shin Hayata, the alter ego of the original Ultraman from the same film in 1966
• Shin In-Seob Korean footballer, currently playing for Adelaide United
• Shin, a name for the fictional character, the Supreme Kai, from the manga/anime Dragon Ball
• Shin, one of the Nanto masters and main villains in the manga/anime Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken)
• The Shins, an American indie band

Surname[link]

• Elizabeth Shin, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who died in 2000
• Jiyai Shin (born 1988), South Korean golfer

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Shin"
• All pages with titles containing "Shin"
• Crayon Shin-Chan, Japanese manga and anime series
• Şin, Azerbaijan
• Shine (disambiguation)
• Shien (disambiguation)
• Shein (disambiguation)
• Sheen (disambiguation)
• Chin (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Bet or BET may refer to:

Look up bet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• A wager in gambling
• Basic Economics Test (BET)
• Bet (letter), the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac
• Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory
• BET, Black Entertainment Television
• BET plc, formerly British Electric Traction

See also[link]

• BET (disambiguation)
• The Bet (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Ami Ayalon
Date of birth	(1945-06-27) 27 June 1945 (age 67)
Place of birth	Tiberias, Mandate Palestine
Knessets	17
Party	Labor Party
Ministerial posts (current in bold)	Minister without Portfolio

Amihai "Ami" Ayalon (Hebrew: עמיחי "עמי" איילון‎, born 27 June 1945) is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. He was previously head of the Shin Bet, Israel's secret service, and commander-in-chief of the Navy. He came in second to Ehud Barak in a Labor party leadership election in June 2007, and was appointed a Minister without Portfolio in September 2007.

Biography[link]

Ami Ayalon was born in Tiberias and grew up in kibbutz Ma'agan. His parents moved to British Mandate Palestine in the 1930s. His mother came as a young girl to study in Jerusalem; his father, Yitzhak, emigrated illegally from Romania, and was one of the founders of Ma'agan, where he worked until retirement as a carpenter.^[1][2] Ayalon graduated from Bar-Ilan University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1980. In 1992 he received a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. In 2010 he received a Master of Studies in Law from Bar-Ilan University. He is married and the father of three.^[3]

Ami Ayalon
Born	(1945-06-27) 27 June 1945 (age 67) Tiberias, Land of Israel
Allegiance	Israel Defence Forces
Years of service	1963–1996
Rank	Aluf
Commands held	Shayetet 13, Israeli Navy
Battles/wars	Six Day War War of Attrition Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War South Lebanon conflict First Intifada
Awards	Medal of Valor

Military and security service[link]

Ayalon served his entire military service in the Israeli Navy. Ayalon enlisted in 1963 and volunteered for the Shayetet 13 navy commando unit. In 1969, he participated in Operation Bulmus 6 – the assault on fortified Green Island, Egypt (jointly with Sayeret Matkal). During the operation he threw a grenade into one of the radar positions, and provided cover for other soldiers in the force. While climbing to the roof, he was hit in the forehead by a ricochet, but continued fighting. He stormed the position from which he was fired upon and injured as a result, killing two Egyptian soldiers and neutralizing the post. After which he continued along with another soldier, and managed to take control of at least two more key positions on the island. While trying to take over the third position, he was injured in the leg by a grenade, kept on fighting, only to be hit by another grenade in the neck and arm. Even so, he continued firing, only reported his injuries when the island was in full control, and was able to evacuate himself into a boat, where he injected himself with morphine. For these actions Ayalon received the Medal of Valor, Israel's highest decoration.^[4]

In 1979, Ayalon was appointed commander of Shayetet 13, and was once again decorated – this time for carrying out a long list of operations without casualties.

Ayalon, receiving the rank of major general,^[5] served as commander of the Israeli Navy from 1992 through 1996.^[6]

Following Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995, Ayalon was "parachuted" into the post of head of the Shin Bet (Israel's internal security service). He retired in 2000.

Peace activity[link]

On 25 June 2003, Ayalon launched, together with Palestinian professor Sari Nusseibeh, a peace initiative called "The People's Voice". The goal of the initiative is to collect as many signatures of Israelis and Palestinians as possible for the peace plan guidelines supporting a two-state solution without the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

On 14 November 2003, Ami Ayalon with three other former heads of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), Avraham Shalom, Yaakov Peri and Carmi Gillon gave an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth (one of the leading tabloid newspapers in Israel) based on the paper prepared by Ami Ayalon and Sari Nusseibeh. The interview was conducted by Alex Fishman and Sima Kadmon. In that interview, the former Security Chiefs warn of an impending "catastrophe" for Israel and urge the public to rally behind a document created which sets out the principles of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. The blunt language and statements of grave concern are particularly striking because the ISA is the non-political nerve center of Israeli intelligence, and is the agency responsible both for gathering intelligence and for preventing terrorist attacks – including by such controversial means as targeted killings and other preventive measures. While the interview has been widely quoted, rough translations have only appeared on isolated list servers and websites, and the full power of the meeting – called "historic" by its participants has often been diluted.^[7]

Although Ayalon promotes traditional left-wing ideas, he insists he is not a part of the Israeli left and spurns the Israeli peace camp for its hostility toward the Israeli public and especially toward the settlers. Ayalon managed to outrage many left-wing activists when he said that only Ariel Sharon and the Likud could bring peace.

He took part in the "Mateh HaRov" demonstration in support of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and made a very critical speech against the Israeli peace camp. He said:

We, who protest here, did not succeed in sinking through to the majority of the people. The majority is silent and therefore has no influence. I will tell you why the majority is not here. They are not here because we didn't manage to settle in the hearts [Hebrew: להתנחל בלבבות, originally a phrase invented by the settlers] of this true majority, the majority that makes the difference. We didn't manage to talk and perhaps we didn't even want to. We turned the settlers of Yesha into enemies and in an overbearing manner we banished them to the outskirts. We will only succeed when the grief of the evacuees will overcome the joyous cry of the evacuators. We claimed the desire for peace solely as our own. The majority sits at home and is quiet, although it wants out of Gaza the same as we do. The majority doesn't care, and shouldn't care, which person signs the accords to end the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict. In order to get out of Gaza, the majority of the people must not be silent.^[8]

In 2006, Ayalon lived in Kerem Maharal.

Political career[link]

In 2006, Ayalon was elected to the Knesset on the Israeli Labor Party's list, but was not given a position in the cabinet when Labor entered a coalition with Kadima.

At the end of May 2007, Ayalon was one of two candidates for the leadership of the Labor Party in ongoing party primaries. In January 2007, public opinion polls showed Ayalon leading the race, followed by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Ophir Pines-Paz.^[9] He retained this lead, and just four days before the poll, on 25 May, was four points ahead of his closest rival, Ehud Barak, with 35% to Barak's 31%.^[10]

However, Ayalon finished second in the 28 May 2007 round of voting with 30.6% to Barak's 35.6%, with Amir Peretz trailing in third.^[11] With neither Ayalon nor Barak having received 40 percent of the vote, the two faced each other in a runoff on 12 June 2007, which Barak won, receiving 51.3% of the vote.^[12]

In September 2007, Ayalon was appointed to the Israeli cabinet as a Minister without Portfolio and later became a member of the security cabinet. He was also appointed chairman of the Knesset State Control Committee, is responsible for implementing the recommendations outlined in the state comptroller's report on the performance of the Home Front Command during the 2006 Lebanon War.^[13]

On 16 November 2008, Ayalon announced he would be leaving the Labor Party for the left-wing religious Meimad party.^[14] Ultimately he did not join Meimad, and lost his seat in the 2009 elections.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ami Ayalon

• Ami Ayalon Knesset website
• Ami Ayalon in Chicago (video), June 1, 2010

v t e Commanders of the Israeli Navy Zak (1948–49) · Shulman (1949) · Shamir (1949–50) · Limon (1951–54) · Tankus (1954–60) · Ben-Nun (1960–66) · Arel (1966–68) · Botzer (1968–72) · Telem (1972–76) · Barkai (1976–78) · Almog (1979–85) · Ben-Shoshan (1985–89) · Ram (1989–92) · Ayalon (1992–95) · Tal (1995–99) · Ya'ari (1999–2004) · Ben Ba'ashat (2004–07) · Marom (2007–11) · Rothberg (2011–)

v t e Heads of the Shin Bet Harel (1948–52) · Dorot (1952–53) · Manor (1953–63) · Harmelin (1964–74) · Ahituv (1974–81) · Shalom (1981–86) · Harmelin (1986–88) · Peri (1988–94) · Gillon (1995–96) · Ayalon (1996–2000) · Dichter (2000–05) · Diskin (2005–2011) · Cohen (2011–)

Mosab Hassan Yousef
Born	Mosab Hassan Yousef[1][2] 1978 (age 33–34)[2] Ramallah, Palestinian territories[2]
Residence	San Diego, California, United States[2]
Other names	Joseph[2]
Ethnicity	Palestinian[1]
Known for	Covert defection to Israel in 1997,[1] and conversion from Islam to Evangelical Christianity[2]
Religion	Evangelical Christian[2]
Parents	Sheikh Hassan Yousef (father)[1]
Military career
Allegiance	Israel[1]
Service/branch	Shin Bet[1]
Years of service	1997–2007[1]

Mosab Hassan Yousef (Arabic: مصعب حسن يوسف‎; now known as Joseph;^[2] born 1978 (age 33–34))^[3] is a Palestinian and son of a Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef.^[1] From 1997 to 2007, he worked undercover for Israel's internal security service Shin Bet, which considered him its most valuable source within the Hamas leadership.^[1]

According to Israeli sources, the information Yousef supplied prevented dozens of suicide attacks and assassinations of Israelis, exposed numerous Hamas cells^[1], and assisted Israel in hunting down many militants, including his own father.^[4] In March 2010, he published his autobiography entitled Son of Hamas.^[5].

Yousef has since converted to Christianity and moved to California.^[2] His request for political asylum in the United States was granted pending a routine background check on June 30, 2010.^[6]

Early life[link]

Yousef was born in Ramallah, a city 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) north of Jerusalem. His father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, was a Hamas founder and leader who spent many years in Israeli prisons.^[2][3][7] He is the oldest of five brothers and three sisters.^[2][8]

According to Yousef, when he was growing up he wanted to be a fighter because that was expected of Arab children in the West Bank.^[9] Yousef was first arrested when he was ten, during the First Intifada, for throwing rocks at Israeli settlers.^[9] He was further arrested and jailed by the Israelis numerous times.^[3] As his father's eldest son, he was seen as his heir apparent^[2] and became an important part of the Hamas organization.^[3]

Working for the Shin Bet[link]

Yousef claims that his doubts about Islam and Hamas began forming when he realized Hamas' brutality, and that he hated how Hamas used the lives of suffering civilians and children to achieve their goals.^[2]

Yousef was held by Shin Bet agents in 1996. He claims that while in prison, he became appalled as he compared the Shin Bet's interrogation methods to how imprisoned Hamas operatives tortured suspected collaborators.^[10] He decided to accept a Shin Bet approach to become an informant.^[11] Since his release from prison in 1997, Yousef was considered the Shin Bet's most reliable source in the Hamas leadership, earning himself the nickname the "Green Prince" – using the color of the Islamist group's flag, and "prince" because of his pedigree as the son of one of the movement's founders. The intelligence he supplied Israel led to the exposure of a number of Hamas cells as well as the prevention of dozens of suicide bombings and assassination attempts on Israeli figures. He has claimed that he did not inform for money but rather that his motivations were ideological and religious, and that he only wanted to save lives.^[12] In order to thwart any suspicions of collaboration, the Shin Bet staged an arrest attempt, telling the Israel Defense Forces to launch an operation to arrest him, and then provided him intelligence allowing him to escape at the last minute, after which he went into hiding for the rest of his career.

Yousef has stated that he supplied intelligence only on the condition that the "targets" would not be killed, but arrested. This led to the detention of several key Palestinian leaders, including Ibrahim Hamid, a Hamas commander in the West Bank, and Marwan Barghouti. Also, Yousef claims to have thwarted a 2001 plot to assassinate Shimon Peres, then foreign minister and now President of Israel. "Many people owe him their lives and don't even know it", says his former Shin Bet officer.^[13]

Conversion to Christianity[link]

In 1999, Yousef met a British missionary who introduced him to Christianity.^[2] Between the years 1999 and 2000, Yousef gradually embraced Christianity. In 2005, he was secretly baptized in Tel Aviv by a Christian tourist. He left the West Bank for the United States in 2007 and lived some time in San Diego, California, where he joined the Barabbas Road Church.^[2]

In August 2008, Yousef publicly revealed his Christianity and renounced Hamas and the Arab leadership, thereby endangering himself and exposing his family in Ramallah to persecution.^[2] Yousef has also claimed that his aim was to bring peace to the Middle East. He still hopes to return to Israel when there is peace.^[2]

2010 revelation about spying for Israel[link]

Yousef's autobiography, Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices (ISBN 1-4143-3307-2), written with the assistance of Ron Brackin, was published in March, 2010 by Tyndale House.,^[1][14] making public his spying activity.

Family reactions[link]

Ouwais Yousef, Mosab's brother, denounced the report of his brother's activities, saying "It was full of lies – it's all lies"; he also revealed that the last contact between his family and Mosab took place over a year before the news of his spying.^[15]

Sheikh Hassan Yussef, Mosab's father, while in an Israeli prison, disowned his son for spying for Israel ^[16].

Hamas[link]

The Haaretz report on Yousef was described by Hamas MP Mushir al-Masri as "psychological war being waged against the Palestinian people...[it] did not deserve a response."^[15]

Deportation and political asylum[link]

For a time, Mosab Hassan Yousef was threatened with deportation after his request for political asylum in the United States was denied, since statements in his book about working for Hamas were interpreted as providing material support to a U.S.-designated terrorist organization," despite Yousef's explanation that they were "intended to undermine the group." His case then proceeded to the deportation stage, despite Yousef’s advocates warning that he would likely be executed by the Palestinian Authority if deported to the West Bank.^[17]

On June 24, 2010 Shin Bet handler Gonen Ben-Itzhak, who for 10 years worked with Mosab Hassan Yousef under the cryptonym "Loai," revealed his own identity in order to testify on behalf of Yousef at an immigration hearing in San Diego. Itzhak described Yousef as a "true friend" and said "he risked his life every day in order to prevent violence."^[18][19]

Partially as a result of this, Immigration Court Judge Richard J. Bartolomei, Jr. ruled, on June 30, 2010, that Yousef will be allowed to remain in the United States after he is fingerprinted and passes a routine background check.^[6]

Bibliography[link]

• Hassan Yousef, Mosab (2 March 2010). Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices (First ed.). Carol Stream, Illinois: SaltRiver. ISBN 978-1-4143-3307-6. 

References[link]

External links[link]

	Palestine portal
	Biography portal

• Son of Hamas: the book's official website
• Escape from Hamas Fox News interview about his journey to Christianity (Jan. 2009)
• al-Qaida's reaction to Mosab's Apostasy (August 2008)
• Magazine article from Haaretz (Feb. 2010)
• Interview on CBN with Pat Robertson
• Interview with BBC's Lyse Doucet and other reactions from Israel/Palestine
• Mosab very outspoken on BBC Arabic (March 12, 2010): arabic 30min; engl. subtitle 5min
• more details : transcript of a teleconference with Christian journalists (March 18)
• Mosab wants to create a 'movement' in the Middle East
• 23min HARDtalk on BBC (May 14, 2010)
• Long Interview in Haaretz with Captain Loai, Mosab's Shin Bet-Handler (May 14, 2010); Similar to Newsweek (May 17, 2010)