by former Israeli Shin-Bet agent,
Gonen ben Itzhak
Mosab Hassan Yousef worked as an Israeli agent for about ten years. When I met him, he was a young and wild Palestinian. Over the years, I watched him become one of the most important players in the bloody intelligence game in the West Bank.
Mosab was never a yes-man. He had strong beliefs and character, and he never made any attempt to flatter anyone.
Last week, I read an article by one, Walid Shoebat, who claims to have been a PLO terrorist who bombed Bank Leumi in Bethlehem. Yet, I never heard his name before, never saw his name in any Israeli intelligence files, and there is no record of any such attack.
I found it strange that, while his brothers and sisters are being slaughtered in Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, Mr. Shoebat’s biggest concern seems to be a year-old television interview. He claims to be a great supporter of Israel, but where was he and what was he doing during the Second Intifada? While Mosab was risking his life day and night, Mr. Shoebat was busy collecting donations with his 800 number.
Mosab Hassan Yousef does not need to prove anything. He has proved it a thousand times over by fighting terror and paying an unreasonably high personal price for his convictions.
As part of my job as an Israeli Shin-Bet agent, I visited many times the Masqubiyeh Prison. Reading Mr. Shoebat’s description of the place, I can only say, Mr. Shoebat, you know nothing of the Masqubiyeh!
Mr. Shoebat is playing a dirty game. As a native Arab speaker, he knows that Arabic is much more than spoken words. In order to understand the meaning of a statement, one must also understand the Arab mentality and culture and the social and political realities.
Mosab’s goal was never to recruit people for the Israeli Shin-Bet. His goal is to build bridges, to help his Palestinian brothers see the truth and understand the meaninglessness and futility of violence. I know this, because we talk about it together almost every single day. How many times have you spoken with Mosab, Mr. Shoebat? Or do you think you know a man’s thoughts and the motives of his heart by listening to a television interview?
Mosab helped Israel more than anyone can believe. This is why the Israeli Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee wrote him a letter of gratitude, perhaps the first of its kind in Israeli history. But somehow Walid Shoebat knows something Israeli officials missed? He knows something members of the U.S. Congress missed? He is smarter than the former director of the CIA, smarter than Jewish leaders in the United States?
I am a trained intelligence officer, with degrees in business, law, and psychology and have extensive experience in the world of lies and deception. I can smell a fraud and recognize a fake hero on the spot. During his service, Mosab never lied to us, and believe me, we had all the tools and the means to find out. Unlike Walid Shoebat, Mosab did not commit fictitious crimes against Israel. And unlike Mr. Shoebat, Mosab served hard time in prison and paid for what he did.
Yes, sometimes he criticizes Israel, like any Israeli, like me. He is no blind follower. He is an intelligent, thoughtful man of conviction and integrity. Mosab Hassan Yousef was a member of a team that risked their lives for Israel, and as such, he earned the right to think independently, criticize the things he believes to be wrong, and support what he believes to right. That is what it means to love Israel, not making speeches and soliciting donations.
Mosab loves the USA but dreams about going back to Israel. I look forward to the moment he will return. My house will also be his, because he is part of our proud family, part of Israel.
Thank you, Mr. Gonen ben Itzhak. You are a true friend.
Thank you for that, Gonen! Trusted friends are hard to come by and you, sir, are one to Mosab.
Mary: Texas Lady
May God’s blessings and protection be upon you Mr. Gonen ben Itzhak.
Mosab, take heart…you have more friends than you can even imagine.
JCLU Forever.
Mosab needs more people in his life like you. God Bless You & Mosab & may he keep you both strong in your faith.
I believe you and I believe what Mosab Hassan. Walid Shoebat, your spirit and the motives of your words and actions speaks volume. Shame on you!
Gonen, thank you for standing by Mosab. It is unbelievable what he has gone through. We Christians love you both and may God bless you.
Im very grateful for your faithful friendship to Mosab, Mr. Gonen ben Itzak, and that you have defended him before a watching world. May God Bless you.
Thank you, Gonen for your defense of Mosab. It’s very sad that it was necessary to have to do so, in that he was being attacked so unfairly. Especially because he risked so much and gave up so very much. God bless you both!
Mosab, you really inspired me in such an indescribable way…
May God bless Mr. Shoebat & change his heart, don’t be discouraged by his acts or similar attempts by people to prevent you from doing the right thing.
God bless you my dear brother, my deepest respect goes out to you, to what you did and still do to this day. Praying for your family..
Rob
A powerful testimonial. Thank you and God bless.
Well said. We all know Mosab is a man of conviction. Thanks for your article.
If a Christian believes his brother has sinned, he is supposed to FIRST confront his brother regarding the sin. THEN if the brother goes not repent, inform the church.
Walid weakens his case by not FIRST confronting Yousef with his allegations.
What a lovely letter.why not post the letter of Gratitude, I would love to see it even if it its in hebrew.
great article! God bless.
Thank you sir, God bless you & yours.
I’ve known Walid for many years and it saddens me to see this rift between him and Mosab. I still consider Walid a friend and a good man but this attack on Mosab is so self serving. I am very saddened to think that Walid exaggerated his past, but he is certainly not the first Christian to fabricate a lurid “testimony”. It’s a shame.
Thank-you Gonen, for this response. I really wish Mosab all the best, and I hope to meet you both some day.
Gonen offered no proof at all that Shoebat is a fake. Read closely!! He no longer has access to Intelligence files!!
I want to add here, that in all the years I have known him ( and that includes before Keith became his manager) Walid has always been very consistent with his story. Please also bear in mind Walid’s experiences predate Mosab’s by many years and in a place as volatile as Israel things can be markedly different from one decade to the next.
I always believed Mosab. I didn’t spot any type of deception there. So, when I read Walid’s article my first thought was that it was personal.
Walid seems to be a sincere Christian. However, attempting to “off” the competition in order be the head “former terrorist” is just tacky.
Thanks, Gonen, for your defense of Mosab — again! I live in San Diego and remember when you came to defend him at his deportation hearing last year and I was so moved by that, especially when I later learned what was at stake for you by doing so. God worked a miracle in that situation and I trust He will also heal this rift between Mosab and Walid. I am so glad Mosab has such a deep friendship with you. Your friendship is a gift of God to each of you! I want you to know that I am also praying diligently about the meeting this week between our President and Mr. Netanyahu. I am saddened that our country has not shown as much support for Israel recently as we did in the past and we may suffer consequences as a result. God bless you – and Israel!
“Yes, sometimes he criticizes Israel, like any Israeli, like me. He is no blind follower. He is an intelligent, thoughtful man of conviction and integrity. Mosab Hassan Yousef was a member of a team that risked their lives for Israel, and as such, he earned the right to think independently, criticize the things he believes to be wrong, and support what he believes to right. That is what it means to love Israel, not making speeches and soliciting donations.”
Loved that!
Gonen,
It seems that Walid refutes with clear evidence your claims. Where you lying?
‘Son of Hamas’ Attacks My Veracity
After my PJM article denouncing Hamas “turncoat” Mosab Hassan Yousef as a continued enemy of Israel, he attacks my undeniable record as an actual reformed terrorist.
May 18, 2011 – 10:25 am – by Walid Shoebat Page 1 of 2 Next -> View as Single Page
In an attempt to defend himself from my exposure of his record and actions, Mosab Hassan Yousef has solicited help from Gonen ben Itzhak – Yousef’s former handler within Shin Bet (Itzhak was fired from the organization). Itzhak intended to write and publicize a letter damaging my name and credibility. I obtained the letter sent by Itzhak prior to its publication, have seen its claims, and can offer proof beyond any doubt defending myself from the spurious charges therein.
It is crucial to note Itzhak’s own background: he was fired from Shin Bet for “financial mismanagement and lying.” Additionally, former deputy head of the Shin Bet (and current Kadima MK) Gideon Ezra has questioned the credibility of Mosab’s story, saying it was all “exaggerated.” Itzhak is also an extremist Greenpeace activist and a pro-Palestine, anti-settlement advocate. This man is now countering my honest, factual reporting of Yousef by claiming he investigated me and found that I was a “fraud.” I can prove he is now lying about my past, and given his current behavior, I am not surprised at the stated reason for his previous firing.
In my article exposing Yousef, I mentioned having witnessed a Jew being beaten at the hands of Jewish guards while a prisoner in the Masqubiyeh (Jerusalem Central Prison). Itzhak now writes of my account:
I visited many times the Masqubiyeh prison. Reading Mr. Shoebat’s description of the place, I can only say, Mr. Shoebat, you know nothing of the Masqubiyeh.
Itzhak also challenges the veracity of my past as a PLO terrorist:
[Walid] claims to have been a PLO terrorist who bombed Bank Leumi in Bethlehem. Yet, I never heard his name before, never saw his name in any Israeli intelligence files, and there is no record of any such attack.
Itzhak then chooses to rebuke me for not being more involved in the current “Arab Spring”:
I found it strange that, while his brothers and sisters are being slaughtered in Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen …
In other words, Itzhak thinks an Arab like me should be supporting the current Muslim Brotherhood-led revolts, as Yousef is doing.
And that’s about it. Itzhak provides nothing: no research material, no details of any sort, and no due-diligence to collaborate his supposed efforts to arrive at his “fraud” allegations. Itzhak has no access to any internal Israeli records, anyway — he was fired for misconduct. In actuality, his claims are simply a repeating of the slanders about me one can find circulating on the internet, as this is not the first time I have been so libeled.
For many years I have had my terror activity questioned, my imprisonment in the Masqubiyeh (with notorious bombmaker Mahmoud Al-Mughrabi, who recruited me to bomb an Israeli bank) denied. Itzhak is pulling his charges from New York Times reporter Chris Hedges and from Holocaust-denial supporter Jorg Luyken, writing for the Jerusalem Post, who has claimed that my story cannot be corroborated.
Further, I know Itzhak is being dishonest about performing due-diligence since it takes months to dig out the old records proving my past. This I know because I have put the time in to gather these records — it took me months, and there is more to be done. Additionally, Itzhak has clearly not even checked the Jerusalem Post archives (United Nations reports on the bombing I was involved in included references to Jerusalem Post coverage of the incident).
Enough: Below is evidence proving the activities of Al-Mughrabi and myself, evidence Itzhak claims does not exist.
Al-Mughrabi was my prison mate and my PLO recruiter: he sent me to bomb the Bank Leumi branch in Bethlehem. After his release from the Masqubiyeh, he was considered enough of a danger that Israel assassinated him on October 1, 1985: Israeli F-15B Eagle war planes, in Operation Wooden Leg, hit Arafat’s Tunisia headquarters in retaliation for the PLO’s murder of Israelis in Larnaca, Cyprus one week earlier. (The assassination mission that killed Al-Mughrabi can be pulled up on video via Al-Jazeera.) Arab sources like Middle East Report lamented his death:
In pain and sorrow we learn that our friend Mahmud Al-Mughrabi was killed during the October bombing raid in Tunisia. Mahmud was born in Jerusalem in 1960. By the age of 16 he was under detention 12 times and he was one of the first to speak in public about the methods of interrogation of Palestinian detainees used by the General Security Services in Israel. He then gave his permission to being publicly identified as an informant for the Sunday Times expose of Israeli torture in June 1977. In 1984, he managed to escape to Jordan after years of increasingly marginal existence under steadily deteriorating conditions of military occupation.
Famed Egyptian terror-apologist Edward Said spoke of Al-Mughrabi:
One of the victims of the Tunis bombing was Mahmoud Al-Mughrabi, born in Jerusalem in 1960, under detention twelve times by the age of 16, one of the informants of The Sunday Times to expose of torture in Israel (19 June, 1977) who “managed to escape to Jordan after years of increasingly marginal existence under steadily deteriorating existence of the Israeli occupation”, according to a memorial notice by Israeli Jewish friends that was repeatedly denied publication in Arab newspapers in East Jerusalem by Israeli military censorship.
Al-Jazeera and Said are not “Zionist” sources, but Arab.
Al-Mughrabi boasted of carrying out 15 bombing operations against Israeli civilians and infrastructure. His claims of torture within the prison are pure deception. He told his communist activist lawyer, Leah Tsemel — who represented him from 1976-1978 — that he had suffered severe electrocution, yet every time he returned from interrogations he was without a scratch. In fact, he disclosed that he was lying to Leah Tsemel, using her as a pawn to win his release.
I have researched old records of a litany of claims against Masqubiyeh: alleged tortures, humiliations, spitting incidents, sexual harassment, overcrowding, and even claims of being forced to watch rapes. All are unfounded upon examination. Unlike what Mosab described, the Masqubiyeh was humane, perhaps even more so than American prisons. Each inmate had his own bed and an in-the-cell shower. We ate three full meals a day, which included a beverage choice of tea or sweet punch. We were fine, and Al-Mughrabi always seemed fine after he returned from questioning.
I met Al-Mughrabi in the Masqubiyeh prison — his detention there is documented by the General Assembly of the United Nations records.2 The UN report reads:
Lea Tsemel’s clients whom Hedva Sarid says she saw being kicked, was a youth-called Mahmud el-Mughrabi. At l6, he had already been picked up a dozen times, and he was clearly regarded as a trouble-maker. Mughrabi gave us a detailed account of how he was beaten at the session Hedva Sarid interrupted. His story is in part corroborated by another prisoner though Mughrabi’s additional allegation of electric shock remains unconfirmed. Mughrabi was one of 24 Palestinians we interviewed who had been interrogated in the Russian Compound — “Moscobiya” the Arabs call it. … Thus the faces constantly re-appear among the countless detainees whose names can (or cannot) be seen on graffiti on the filthy walls of the Russian Compound (Moskubiye) prison cells. 3
The several riots in both Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Beit Sahour in which I participated in are documented events:
The riots in Bethlehem, Beit-Sahur, Hebron, Jericho and Halhul were reported in Ha’aretz on 18 March 1976. 4
I first spotted Mahmud Al-Mughrabi during a demonstration on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He was firing a low-caliber pistol when an Israeli post guard fired back, hitting Mahmoud Al-Jneidi instead. I was right behind Jnedi, who was killed by the shot.
Later on, I was imprisoned with Mahmoud Al-Mughrabi at the Masqubiyeh in 1977. I recognized him from that event on the Temple Mount.
We became friends. He recruited me into the PLO to carry out a bombing operation after my release. He gave me his address: Judo Star Martial Arts Institute on Bab Al-Wad Street in Jerusalem’s Old City. We met several times to plan an operation: we concluded that I could use my U.S. passport one day to hijack an airliner, but to start we would target all branches of Bank Leumi — mine was the branch of Bank Leumi in Bethlehem’s Manger Square.
The Jerusalem Post article by Jorg Loyken stated that “[Loyken] called Bank Leumi and there was no record of any bombing.” This meaningless statement provided no reference of what records were checked, and Loyken apparently did not check other sources or witness statements that were provided to him. (Loyken’s article has since been referenced by other news sources to attack the credibility and legitimacy of my story.)
After the publication of the Loyken article, witnesses came forth to rebut it and to confirm my account.
I spoke to Moshe Ozery, a retired military officer who served in the Israeli Defense Forces in the Bethlehem area under Moshe Ya’alon prior to Ya’alon becoming IDF chief of staff. Ozery was stationed in Beit Sahour during 1976-1977. He gave details regarding the bombing and demonstrations (and additionally gave a corroborating description of the injured soldier that I attempted to lynch during the Land Day demonstrations of March 1976).
The bombing of the Bank Leumi in Bethlehem’s Manger Square — as described in my books — was documented by the United Nations. Between December 24 and 27, there were two explosions in Manger Square: “Bethlehem (in Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity)” and “Explosive charge went off outside the local Courthouse 27 December 1977 JP. 2 Jan. 1978 Yediot Aharonot, 2 January 1978.” The Sharia Court in Bethlehem Square is part of the mosque in front of Bank Leumi.
James Al-Yateem — another witness from my village and a former classmate of mine — stated: “Not only was there an explosion on top of Bank Leumi in Bethlehem, but many of us knew that Walid did the bombing.” Al-Yateem also recounts several incidents of violence that I was involved in (including the attempted Land Day lynching).
Muhammad Meri Al-Atrash Shoebat, my relative, was also arrested at the Bethlehem Police Station after the explosion and released three days later.
I have other family connections that Itzhak has not explored. My cousin Jawad Younis, another terrorist who was exiled to Jordan, later became a prominent attorney and defended Abu Zubayda, Osama bin Laden’s henchman. My cousin Arin Shoebat was the mastermind of Operation Rishon Litzion, and Raed Awadallah Khalil Shoebat was behind an attempt to bomb Ben Yehuda street.
Gonen: how come you never discovered any of this? No wonder Shin Bet fired you.
—————————————————————-
1 Blaming The Victims by Edward W. Said and Christopher Hitchens (Verso 2001) on page 100. Also see The Spectator by F.C Westley, 1987, Volume 258, Issues 8269-8285, page 13. Also see Leila Baroody in The Arabs Under Israeli Occupation, 1977, pages 28-29. Also, see Middle East Report, issue 138, page 47.
http://student.cs.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/authors.php?auid=17970
http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/event.php?eid=990
2 A/32/132, S/12356 July 5, 1977
The article entitled “Israel tortures Arab Prisoners” and a related editorial which appeared in The Sunday Times 19 June 1977 with the request that they be circulated as an official document signed by Security Council Mustafa Medani, Permanent Representative of the Sudan Chairman of the Arab Group.
http://unispal.un.org/pdfs/A32132.pdf
http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/FE3D603D74F5729B85256FE0006CC519
3 Detention of Palestinian Youths in East Jerusalem, Journal of Palestine Studies 1977, University of California Press. Also see Noam Chomsky Protest From Israel, January 1977
4 International Documents On Palestine, Institute of Palestine Studies, 1978
Other articles:
http://www.moghrabi-jerusalem.com/shohdaaa/mahmoud.htm
http://pjf-pal.riadah.org/montada-f3/topic-t3.htm
http://rachedarfaoui.over-blog.com/article-36803579.html
If you no longer work for Israeli intellgence, please explain how you would have gotten into the secret records to look up Shoebat’s information so quickly.
Shoebat has responded to your accusation…slander, please respond.
thank you,
jb
I do not like the tone of Gonen’s letter here. I know he was angry and upset about the attacks on his friend’s character, but that anger comes across in his tone and it seems like a spirit of retaliation and revenge (trying to discredit Mr. Shoebat as viciously as he tried to discredit Mosab). Maybe God is giving Mosab a “test” – an opportunity to “pray for those who falsely accuse you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely.” Mosab, you have written so beautifully about these words of Christ in your book. I hope you will seek His help to do so even as the attacks are more personal, and therefore so much more difficult to bear. Then people will SEE the power of Christ in your life! With us it is impossible, but with Christ all things are possible!
P.S. I’m no polygraph test, so I have no way of knowing for sure if what Mr. Shoebat said about his own experiences are true, but a couple of things in another part of the letter did leave me scratching my head: “In my article exposing Yousef, I mentioned having witnessed a Jew being beaten at the hands of Jewish guards while a prisoner in the Masqubiyeh (Jerusalem Central Prison). Itzhak now writes of my account: I visited many times the Masqubiyeh prison. Reading Mr. Shoebat’s description of the place, I can only say, Mr. Shoebat, you know nothing of the Masqubiyeh.”
My understanding was that Gonen was saying that things were much WORSE at the Masqubiyeh than Mr. Shoebat described. He wasn’t taking issue with the fact that Mr. Shoebat saw a beating, but rather with the idea that there weren’t many, many more!
Here is the other one: “Itzhak then chooses to rebuke me for not being more involved in the current “Arab Spring”: ‘I found it strange that, while his brothers and sisters are being slaughtered in Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen …’ In other words, Itzhak thinks an Arab like me should be supporting the current Muslim Brotherhood-led revolts, as Yousef is doing.
Um, no. I think what Gonen was saying was not that you should have been involved on the Arab side of the Intifada, but on the Israeli side. He was saying, ‘Mosab was doing a lot to save Israeli and Arab lives. You, on the other hand, for all you say that you support Israel, were safely far away.’ Now, it’s not necessarily true that you weren’t helping from where you were. But it’s definitely not true that Gonen was saying you should have been part of the Muslim uprising or that Mosab was part of it (he was working against it, for goodness sake!).
These two snide attacks really make Mr. Shoebat’s other arguments lose credibility to me. I have no way to check the actual veracity of them, but the fact that he would so twist (or misunderstand?) Gonen’s actual meaning certainly don’t lead me to trust his other statements.