Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices

“Israel became a state in 1948. However, the Palestinian territories remained just that—nonsovereign territories. Without a constitution to maintain some semblance of order, religious law becomes the highest authority. And when everyone is free to interpret and enforce the law as he sees fit, chaos ensues.”

This line summarizes Yousef’s chief thesis regarding the ultimate causes of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. While the narrative will later describe terrible violence that both sides inflicted upon one another, he ultimately finds the Palestinians to be more at fault because they lack a political order. He, in turn, blames the decentralized nature of the Islamic tradition for much of the conflict, as it promotes too many competing traditions, in his view.

“I understood fighting and killing out of hatred, rage, revenge, or even necessity. But I had done nothing to these soldiers. I had not resisted. I had done everything I was told to do. I was no threat to them. I was bound, blindfolded, and unarmed. What was inside these people that made them take such delight in hurting me? Even the basest animal kills for a reason, not just for sport.”

Shortly after his capture, Yousef developed a much more sympathetic view of the Israeli government. However, as a young man who had barely participated in any militant activity, he endured brutal treatment at the hands of people who seemed motivated primarily by cruelty rather than a desire to extract information. The suffering inflicted upon him would be contrasted sharply by the comparatively warm approach that the Shin Bet would later use when seeking his cooperation.

“[The Muslim Brotherhood’s members] were doing everything dear to my father’s heart—encouraging renewed faith among those who had strayed from the Islamic way of life, healing those who were hurt, and trying to save people from the corrupting influences in society.”

Yousef acknowledges that groups like the Muslim Brotherhood originated with a mission of social justice, rectifying the effects of oppressive and distant rule. He can understand why his father, whom he has consistently regarded as sincere and kind-hearted even in his drift to radicalism, would fall in with an ostensibly idealist group.