In a recent Twitter post, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a prominent Hamas leader who later broke away from the group, made strong statements about the concept of “Palestine” and its historical identity.
Yousef claimed that “Palestine” was a colonial creation established by the British between 1922 and 1948, which was later used by Yasir Arafat, an Egyptian, to reignite Arab sentiments following the defeat of Arab forces in 1967.
Yousef argues that the Palestinian identity is rooted in a colonial framework and suggests that adopting such an identity has only brought ongoing conflict and bloodshed. He highlighted Arafat’s role in the rebranding of this colonial term as a national identity and criticized his approach, which he argues relied on violence and a focus on restoring what he termed “Muslim-Arab honor.” This, according to Yousef, has led to continuous violence and the politicization of children in the conflict.
He went on to describe “Palestinian” leadership as fractured and largely unrepresentative of the Palestinian people, alleging that many leaders live luxuriously abroad while fueling ideological extremism among youth in Gaza and the West Bank. According to Yousef, this lack of authentic leadership and the fostering of violent ideologies have perpetuated suffering among Palestinians, hindering any hope for peace or stability in the region.