1986 the son relates in his book, Sheikh You;ef met in Hebron with Sheikh - Ahmed Yassin, Mohammed Jamal al , Natshe Mohammed Musleh and others and together planned the creation of the - new organization. Hamas officially an . 1987 nounced its existence in December ln September 2000, when Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount, Mosab Yousef was naturally accompanying his father to meetings. On September 27, the night before Sharon's visit, Sheikh Hassan met with Marwan Barghouti, commander of the Tanzim militia in the West Bank, and . leaders of other groups Yousef recalls: "1 drove them to the meeting, and when we returned he told me that they had agreed that the next , day after Sharon's visit to the mount they would foment demonstrations and in the end an intifada. Their plan was to - stir up riots that would continue for two . three weeks They planned the intifada, and don't " ~~~ ," let anyone tel1 you anything different he continues. "[However,] the Hamas leadership in Hebron and Gaza did not want to take part in the riots, because ] they said [palestinian leader Yasser Arafat did not deserve to be helped after - he persecuted the organization so harsh ly. And the truth is that Hamas in Gaza did not take part in the demonstrations at the start of the intifada. But my father ]." was in favor [of participating yau mean by "planned"? Did d What ? Arajat ask them ta da it 1 can't tel1 you for certain that he " gave an order. But he did give them his blessing. Listen, man, what do you , think? Barghouti, Hussein al-Sheikh - all those who organized the demonstra . tions - they met with Arafat every day So what did they talk about? But that is not the worst thing 1 discovered at the - time about Arafat. 1 was the one who re vealed that the first squad of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade was actually a group from Arafat's Presidential Guard, Force 17, which got money from Barghouti, who got it from Arafat." According to Yousef, it was he who led the Shin Bet to Force 17 man Muhanad Abu Halaweh. "Abu Halaweh sent more and more people to perpetrate terror- ist attacks," he says. "He was a dubious type who walked around with a heavy machine gun and opened fire at every opportunity. The Shin Bet wanted to liq- uidate him and 1told Loai that 1agreed to the mission, even if it meant he would be killed. 1felt there was no choice, because otherwise Muhanad would go on killing innocent people. "On August 4"2001; 1waited outside the office of Marwan Barghouti until 1 saw Abu Halaweh go inside. A few hours later he came out and got into his gold VW Golf. 1informed the Shin Bet that he was in the car, alone; it was important for them not to hurt Barghouti. The Israelis waited a What were yaur gaals when yau agreed ta warkjar them? Yousef: "1 saw torture, killing, a war over land. For me, human life and saving human lives is the most important thing, more important than any piece of land or real estate. 1wanted to save - and did save - human lives, Israeli and Palestinian. 1 did not do it because the Shin Bet pres- sured me, or for money. 1 did it because 1 understood what Hamas really is and 1 had to make a change. For my sake and for the sake of others. 1thought tQ myself that even if people claim 1 am a-traitor, let them say it. People will not believe it, - ~ they will think 1did it for money, but they have no idea. 1was happy, delighted when 1stopped a suicide bomber." Hamas is born lt's striking, throughout the interview, that Yousef uses the first person plural in talking about Shin Bet activity. ln California, he says, he has a T-shirt say- ing, "1 do secret work but 1 don't know what it is - the Shin Bet." "1 also have an Israel Defense Forces T-shirt - olive colored, with the symbol- which 1really love," he adds, laughing. By 1999 he had penetrated the heart of Hamas in the West Bank and was accom- panying his father everywhere. As the book reveals for the first time, Sheikh Yousef conceived the idea of establishing Hamas in the West Bank a year before the organization's formal creation. ln ~ i'; ~ ~ ~ e. Marwan Barghouti: "Even though the Shin Bet hated him, they did not want to turn him into a martyr:' ----~~------~~ - burned them, jabbed them with nee : ." dles, put out cigarettes on them , 1997 After his release from prison in , Yousef started to meet with Captain Loai and says, "1had no plans to kill anyone or to be a spy, 1 was just curious." Already in their second meeting, he relates, the . Shin Bet man managed to surprise him 1 Yousef: "He explained to me that if wanted to work for the Shin Bet, 1 had - to respect a few rules. 'You must not be - friend loose women or behave immoral ly,' he told me. 'Do not sleep with women or behave like a wise guy - especially you, the son of a sheikh. You have to find work and get along.' One time, Captain Loai stopped the meeting and asked me if . 1had already recited the midday prayers Surprised, 1 said 1 hadn't. He then asked , me to purify myself [by washing hands and pray, and then said we נface and feet . would continue 1 lt was important for them that " , would continue to be the person 1 was for me not to change, to be serious. They wanted respectable people, who were respected in their society, not those with a poor reputation. 1 became even more curious and wanted to learn more about ' them. My handlers told me time and again, 'You must respect your father and your mother and not do anything bad to - anyone.' They did not yet ask for infor 1 mation about anything or anyone, and became more and more serious in regard - to them. My handlers, for their part, re spected me and treated me very wel1 .· and even helped me with my studies 1 was stunned by their behavior. They did not want to take action against the - Palestinians as such, only against the ex tremists. 1 looked at these people, whom , in the past 1 had so much wanted to kill and discovered that everything 1 knew . about them was incorrect lt was also in this period that Yousef began to be drawn to Christianity and read the New Testament. "1 remember encountering the sentence, 'Love your - enemies.' That made me think: These en , emies of yours, the Shin Bet, the soldiers are only trying to do their job. 1 thought to myself how Hamas would behave in a - reverse situation: Would they show mer cy to J ews? And 1 thought: 'Who are you trying to kid? Hamas and Fatah would - behave more humanely?' 1 couldn't de . fine who my enemy was anymore - True, the Shin Bet made horrible mis " takes and killed innocent people, but its main goal, like Israel's, was to preserve . the principles of a democratic country - There are 1.2 million Palestinians liv , ing inside Israel, within the Green Line who enjoy rights and benefit more from Israel's prosperity and welfare than in any Arab state. Still, those soldiers took my father away before my eyes and shot , people before my eyes, and believe me it was no smal1 thing for me to work for ." those people. lt was a real turnaround