Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

Hassan Yousef (born in 1955,

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

) is a co-founder of Hamas. He currently serves as one of their leaders in the West Bank. He is considered a member of Hamas' extremist faction and he refrains from any talk of rapprochement between Israel and the

Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

. He is also considered one of the spiritual leaders of Hamas. Yousef is married to Sabba Abu Salem. They have six sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Mosab Hassan Yousef, worked undercover with Shin Bet from 1997 to 2007 to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians, as he considered such attacks immoral and destructive to the Palestinian cause. He was disowned by his father but is considered a hero by many Americans as well as Israelis. In July 2, 2019 Hassan's youngest son Suhib Hassan Yousef appeared in an interview with Israeli T.V. criticizing Hamas and describing it as a corrupt terrorist organization which sparked huge anger from members of Hamas describing him as a traitor and a collaborator, and other Hamas affiliated networks said that he was working with the Israeli

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

which he completely denies.

Politics

Yousef has been arrested by the Israeli authorities several times, starting from 1993. He became the visible leader of the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

. According to the

Palestinian Information Center The Palestinian Information Center (PIC) ( ar, المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام) is a Palestinian News website & Network, established first in Arabic language on 1 December 1997, later the English language was launched on 1 January ...

, Yousef has spent over 23 years in Israeli prisons. While in jail in 2005, Yousef was nominated to represent Hamas during the elections. This was against his will, as he did not think that Hamas should become a political party. He was initially unwilling to accept the nomination, but eventually agreed, when he found out that his eldest son had received death threats.Yousef, Mosab Hassan, and Ron Brackin, ''Son of Hamas''. SaltRiver, 2010. p235 On October 19, 2015, during the ongoing Palestinian unrest,

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

(IDF) raided Yousef's home in Beitunia in the West Bank and arrested him, accusing him of inciting violence. He was released on August 31, 2017. A few months later, in December he was again arrested by Israeli authorities and held until October 2018. Each time he was held in

Administrative detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

, meaning incarceration without trial or charge. On 3 October 2020, he was arrested again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yousef, Hassan 1955 births Living people Hamas members Al-Quds University alumni Members of the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council Palestinian people imprisoned by Israel People from Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate