Mosab Hassan Yousef, the estranged son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, ignited controversy with a recent social media post asserting that the October 7 attacks occurred not because Palestinians were denied a state, but "because they were given one." The statement, made on July 30, 2025, reflects Yousef's increasingly vocal pro-Israel stance and sharp criticism of Palestinian leadership and identity since the widespread incursions.
Yousef, who served as an Israeli intelligence informant for a decade before moving to the United States, has become a prominent commentator on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Known as the "Green Prince," he has consistently condemned Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, arguing they do not genuinely represent the Palestinian people's interests. His views have drawn both support from pro-Israel circles and accusations of Islamophobia from Palestinian and pro-Palestinian groups.
The October 7, 2023, attacks saw Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launch coordinated incursions from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. These assaults resulted in over 1,200 deaths, predominantly Israeli civilians, and the abduction of more than 250 individuals. The events triggered a significant escalation of the conflict, leading to extensive military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Yousef's assertion directly challenges the widely held international perspective that the denial of Palestinian statehood is a central grievance fueling the conflict. The concept of a two-state solution, envisioning an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, has been the cornerstone of international peace efforts for decades, notably articulated in the 1947 UN Partition Plan and the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Despite international consensus, the path to Palestinian statehood has been fraught with challenges, including ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, internal Palestinian divisions, and a lack of sustained negotiations. While the Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank, a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state has yet to materialize. Yousef's controversial interpretation adds a starkly different narrative to the complex historical and political discourse surrounding the conflict's origins.