http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/israels-top-mole-reveals-secrets/story-e6frg6so-1225834041728
Israel's top mole reveals secrets Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem From: The Australian February 25, 2010 12:00AM THE son of a Hamas founder was the most valuable informant for Israel's Shin Bet security service for a decade and was instrumental in crushing the deadliest terror network Israel has ever faced. In an exclusive story in the newspaper Ha'aretz yesterday, a former Shin Bet officer confirmed the role of Mosab Hassan Yousef in thwarting dozens of suicide bombings and exposing Hamas cells during the Palestinian uprising. Mr Yousef, 32, tells his own story in a book to be published in the US next week. He is the son of Sheik Hassan Yousef, a founder of Hamas and one of its leaders on the West Bank. The younger Mr Yousef came to public attention two years ago when he gave a lengthy interview to Ha'aretz and revealed that he had converted from Islam to Christianity and denounced Hamas as a bloody band of terrorists. He had fled to the US the previous year after making his conversion known, which roused the wrath of devout Muslims. His revelations yesterday about his co-operation with the Israeli security services is certain to amplify anger against him. His former handler in the Shin Bet, whom Mr Yousef identifies as Captain Loai, a pseudonym, said that Mr Yousef had saved the lives of many people. "The amazing thing is that none of his actions was done for money," the now-retired security official told the newspaper. "He wanted to save lives. His grasp of intelligence matters was just as good as ours, the ideas, the insights." Mr Yousef was regarded by the Shin Bet as its most reliable informant. His information led to the arrest of the senior Hamas military commander on the West Bank, Ibrahim Hamid, and to that of Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader widely seen as a Palestinian national figure, among many others. Mr Yousef was detained in 1996 by the Shin Bet, which sought to enlist him as an informant in touch with the upper echelons of Hamas. Mr Yousef's book is expected to cause considerable discomfort to the Shin Bet because it reveals the methods of operation by which it virtually wiped out the terror cells that had killed more than 1000 Israelis between 2000 and 2005. On the other hand, his story also reflects the deep penetration of Hamas and other militant groups that the Shin Bet managed to achieve.
