Jerusalem: The son of one of the founders of
Hamas spied from inside the movement for Israel`s Shin Bet
internal intelligence agency, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz
reported on Wednesday.
According to extracts of an article to be published on
Friday, Israeli agents were able to prevent dozens of attacks
thanks to the help of 32-year-old Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son
of Sheikh Hassan Yousef.
The information led to the arrests of Ibrahim Hamid, once
the movement`s military chief in the West Bank, and Abdullah
Barghuti, the bomb maker behind an infamous 2001 suicide
attack on a Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem.
He was also said to have played a role in the arrest of
Marwan Barghuti, a senior Fatah leader considered the
architect of the 2000 intifada, or uprising.
The two Barghutis are not closely related.
Yousef was known by his Shin Bet handlers as "The Green
Prince".
The article came from extracts of a book, "Son of Hamas",
co-written by Yousef, who converted to Christianity 10 years
ago and now lives in California.
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Radwan rejected the report,
calling it "baseless slander" aimed at the elder Yousef.
"Everyone knows what Hamas is and who its leaders are...
The leader Hassan Yousef is known for his history and and his
struggle against the Israeli occupation," he said in a
statement.
The investigation has also led to credit cards used by 14
of the suspects. The issuing bank -- META BANK -- was also
identified in the US. The cards were used to book hotel rooms
and pay for air travel.
Dubai Police General Command stressed that all the
suspects will be pursued to stand trial for this crime as the
evidence shows their involvement in preparations, planning,
logistics, surveillance, technical support and the actual
killing of Al Mabhouh.
British passport holders have been named as Daniel Marc
Schnur, Gabriella Barney, Roy Allan Cannon, Stephen Keith
Drake, Mark Sklur and Philip Carr while Irish passports
holders are Ivy Brinton, Anna Shuana Clasby and Chester
Halvey.
French passport holders are David Bernard LaPierre,
Melenie Heard and Eric Rassineux and Australians are Bruce
Joshua Daniel, Nicole Sandra Mccabe and Adam Korman.
The Dubai Police said earlier this week that the
11-member hit squad which killed the senior Hamas leader here
last month used diplomatic passports to execute the killing.
It also said it has strong evidence to implicate Israeli
intelligence agency Mossad in the assassination of Al Mabhouh.
PTI
