Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a founding Hamas leader who turned against the group and now lives in exile, has sparked fresh controversy with a bold statement on his verified Twitter account.
In a tweet shared on Tuesday, Yousef denounced the ideology of Palestinianism, claiming it has robbed generations of Arab children of their future by forcing them into a corrupt and inherited struggle.
“Children weren’t born Palestinians, they [were] born free. No one has the right to call them ‘Palestinians’,” Yousef declared, arguing that identity should not be forced upon children for political purposes. He added that Palestinianism has “compromised the dream of many Arab children,” turning them into tools to “carry the burden of their forefathers’ failure” and “restore the image of a broken ego.”
Yousef, who has long been a vocal critic of Hamas and what he calls the political exploitation of Palestinian youth, lamented that children have been made to “wash the shame of failure” rather than live as individuals with their own destinies.
He further urged the international community to abandon emotionally charged narratives driven by propaganda. “If the world really wants to achieve a breakthrough,” he said, “then truthfulness and rationality must overpower raw emotions ignited by propaganda, disinformation leading to misperceptions.”
His statement concluded with a powerful appeal: “Once we are able to see them as children, we will realize the real enemy that has been feeding off their suffering.”
