Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, arrived in Israel Wednesday evening from the US.

Despite receiving an official invitation to visit the Knesset from Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara (Likud), Yousef was detained at passport control for more than three hours of questioning before being allowed to proceed.

“They questioned me for a long time but they treated me well and with respect,” said Yousef regarding his detainment at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Yousef, who served as his father’s right-hand man, worked as an undercover agent for the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) from 1997 until 2007 and was considered the most valuable spy within Hamas during the second intifada.

In his capacity as a source for the Shin Bet, Yousef prevented dozens of terrorist attacks and planned assassinations against Israeli leaders. He further assisted in exposing Hamas terrorist cells and provided intelligence that led to the detention of key Palestinian leaders – including his own father. In 2007, Yousef, who is a convert to Christianity, quit being an agent and moved to the US where he received political asylum.

Yousef’s autobiography, Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices, was published in 2010.

In it, he describes how he came to despise the use of brutality in Hamas and what caused him to switch sides. (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 06/14/12)