Prominent Hamas Leader's Son Splits From the Movement

Suhaib Hassan Youssef during his interview with the Israeli channel.
Suhaib Hassan Youssef during his interview with the Israeli channel.
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Prominent Hamas Leader's Son Splits From the Movement

Suhaib Hassan Youssef during his interview with the Israeli channel.
Suhaib Hassan Youssef during his interview with the Israeli channel.

The son of senior Hamas leader Hassan Yousef has launched a major attack against the movement he has long worked for in the West Bank and Turkey, saying it was corrupt, spying for Iran in return for money and sending children to die in the West Bank to ease pressure on the Gaza Strip.

In an interview widely promoted by the Israeli news company, Suhaib Youssef said he had worked for Hamas for a long time, but decided to leave it because of corruption.

Suhaib was working as a Hamas official in Turkey only a month ago. But he suddenly decided to leave, boarding a plane to East Asia where he communicated with an Israeli journalist from Channel 12.

“Hamas has become part of me since I was a child. I grew up in Hamas and worked in the movement, but when it became corrupt, I left it,” he recounted.

Suhaib accused the movement of administrating “security and military institutions on Turkish territory under the guise of civil society groups.”

“They use the latest equipment to promote a foreign agenda and that’s what I want to reveal,” he said.

“The movement uses this information not for the benefit of the Palestinian people; it sends intelligence to Iran in exchange for financial support, and even funds are transferred through Turkish banks under the guise of civil society institutions,” he emphasized.

He also talked about sophisticated security centers and use of advanced phone tapping equipment, noting that Hamas tapped the phones of people and leaders in Ramallah, using high-tech hardware and software.

“Some people are experts in this field,” he underlined.

Suhaib is the brother of Mosab Yousef, who abandoned Islam in 2010, joined the Israeli Shin Bet and was nicknamed in Israel by the Green Prince. Unlike his brother, Suhaib says he remained a Muslim and did not cooperate with Israel.

He also explained that the movement in Turkey was recruiting people, including children, into the West Bank, to carry out attacks against Israelis. He added in the Israeli television interview that the aim of the attacks in the West Bank “was to kill civilians, not to liberate the land of Palestine, not even because they hate the Jews.”

“They are sending these innocents because they want to export the crisis [from Gaza] to the West Bank,” he affirmed.



SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
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SOHR: Document Reveals Assad Family Smuggled Millions to Moscow

The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)
The historic Hotel Ukraina in central Moscow (Wikipedia)

A confidential document obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has revealed massive money smuggling operations carried out via Syrian Airlines to Moscow.
The operations are described as among the most corrupt financial transfers orchestrated by the now-defunct Syrian regime.
According to the document, the majority of the funds stem from profits made through the production and trade of Captagon, a highly lucrative illicit drug.
The head of SOHR, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most recent transfer took place just four days before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow in December of last year.
Rami Abdel Rahman also affirmed that the leaked document underscores the “deep involvement of the former Syrian regime in illegal activities.”
He added that further investigations could uncover a vast network of secret financial operations used to transfer large sums of money from Syria to Russia and other countries under official cover and without oversight.
“The regime, led by the ousted Assad and his brother, spearheaded drug-related investments, particularly through the production, promotion, and export of Captagon,” Abdel Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He explained that one key route involved a small port near the Afamia chalets on Syria's coast, which previously belonged to Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of late former President Hafez al-Assad.
From there, shipments were sent via smugglers to Italian ports, where collaborating traders distributed the drugs globally.
A Syrian source based in Russia, closely monitoring the regime’s activities and investments there, said the content of the leaked document is not new but that its official confirmation adds weight to prior claims.
“Western media had previously reported on the regime’s money-smuggling operations, which led to some loyalists being added to international sanctions lists, particularly regime-linked businessmen like Mudalal Khouri,” the source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals accused of money laundering for the regime.
The source confirmed that the operations were conducted using Syrian Airlines flights to Moscow.
“There were dozens of such flights, each loaded with hard currency—mostly US dollars and €500 euro notes,” the source said.
The money was reportedly delivered directly from the airport to the Syrian regime's embassy in Moscow, where it was distributed to loyalist businessmen.
These funds were then invested in Russian and Belarusian banks, real estate, and commercial properties. Some of the money was also used to establish companies in both countries.
The operations were allegedly overseen by Mohammed Makhlouf, the maternal uncle of Assad.