Hamas defector tells pro-Palestinian activists they belong in 'a mental asylum' in brutal debate

Pro-Palestinian activists were left seemingly dumbfounded after Dr. Phil brought a former Hamas member on his show to dismantle their arguments. 

One student tried to accuse the former Hamas member, who originally hails from Ramallah, of peddling "colonial rhetoric."

"Dr. Phil Primetime" invited Palestinian activists — Salma and Zaynab from the University of Michigan — to debate the issues with Mosab Hassan Yousef, a Palestinian ex-militant who defected to Israel in 1997. Yousef, the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, worked as an undercover agent for the Jewish state's Shin Bet intelligence wing. 

"It's very disappointing to see Americans supporting Hamas and thinking that Hamas is a cool thing, while Hamas does not respect any of those followers, while those followers don't know that Hamas would torture them and massacre them with no mercy. They call them useful idiots. They don't know that Hamas is a dark black hole," Yousef said on an April 2 episode of "Dr. Phil Primetime." 

"[Pro-Palestinians are] absolutely idiots because they don't know what they are supporting. They are supporting a monster that has been hijacking an entire society and endangering the entire Middle East, pushing the world towards a global war. … What's happening is insanity. Those pro-Palestine people need to go to a mental asylum." 

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Yousef, also known as "The Green Prince" from his work with Israeli intelligence, said he based his knowledge in the time he spent with Hamas leaders and members from different districts in prison.

"I was born there, and part of that culture, part of that religion. … That's why I described it as a black hole. Some people hear about Hamas, or they see an avatar of a Hamas fighter carrying a rifle, a freedom fighter, and they think it's a fancy idea to support such a monster," he said.

Yousef said the activists were wearing the keffiyeh, a black and white neckerchief, to distract from the fact that they had no legitimacy to speak on behalf of the cause.

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"You don't know what Palestine is, actually. In fact, the keffiyeh that you are wearing is just a statement to show that you really lack the authenticity to represent the case," he said.

Yousef continued, "On what authority do you speak? You only speak on the authority of Hamas propaganda."

Zaynab interjected, asking why he believed she was speaking Hamas talking points.

He said, "Because if you were a decent human being, you can say that the thousands who were killed on Oct. 7, that was a crime against humanity. It was a genocide."

Yousef also accused the pro-Palestinian activists of being complicit in Hamas' crimes because they are part of a movement in the West providing ideological cover for the terror group and advancing its talking points. 

"We have the problem with the pro-Palestine [people], who are actually giving Hamas cover. They are participants in the crime," he said. "The cause must die. I think enough is enough, and now it's proven, and you are helping Hamas to prove it to the world — that Palestine depends on the destruction of the state of Israel. And this is not acceptable, and we are not going to agree to it, and I tell you something: For the next 10 or 20 years, the Palestinian people will pay the bill that Hamas has caused today and most likely in blood." 

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Dr. Phil asked Salma and Zaynab to condemn the Oct. 7 terror attacks and noted how they dodged the question. 

"There are some things that are just fundamental human decency, and when I ask you if what happened on Oct. 7 is something you condemn, and you say, ‘Well, you have to look at that by looking at hundreds of years of conflict.’ No, you don't. That's either right or it's wrong, and it was wrong, and I don't need a hundred years of conflict to know it was wrong," Dr. Phil said. 

The Hamas defector said he no longer sees a difference between Palestinians and Hamas.

"In fact, since Oct. 7, I personally don't differentiate between Hamas and the so-called Palestinians because, actually, there is no Palestinians, there are tribes. There is a tribe of Hamas, and there is the tribe of the Islamic Jihad … and each one has different interests, and all of them are conflicted," he said. "If they did not have Israel as the common enemy, they would kill each other. This is the reality."

Zaynab, after accusing the former Hamas member of peddling "common colonial rhetoric," asked, "You think Hamas and Palestinian are the same?"

"After Oct. 7? Yes. There is no difference. The vast majority of the Palestinian people support Hamas. This is a fact. This is proven by statistics, and your silence now — you are not even — you cannot even condemn Hamas and say that what they did on Oct. 7 was an act of a savage group," he said.

A poll on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank in December indicated support for Hamas skyrocketed after the Oct. 7 attacks, according to a December report in the Associated Press.

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According to the Shikaki poll, 44% of Palestinians in the West Bank said they supported Hamas, up from 12% in September. In Gaza, the terrorist group had 42% support, up from 38% three months prior.

According to a December poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 57% of respondents in Gaza and 82% in the West Bank believe Hamas was correct in launching the October attack. Only 10% said they believed Hamas committed war crimes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.