Senior Hamas figure Hassan Youssef released from Israeli administrative detention

Palestinian media reported that Israel released Sheikh Hassan Youssef, one of Hamas’s leading figures in the West Bank, after he had been held in administrative detention since the start of the war in October 2023. The reports said the release took place yesterday.

After his release, published footage showed Youssef lying in a hospital bed and receiving visitors who came to greet and support him. He was said to have been taken for medical treatment following his release.

According to the reports, Youssef was arrested at his home in the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, in the first days of the war in Gaza. He was then placed under administrative detention, which was repeatedly extended without indictment or trial.

Youssef is regarded as one of Hamas’s most prominent figures in the West Bank. Palestinian accounts described him as someone who spent years active in Palestinian political and public life, calling for national unity and continued struggle against Israel. Over the years, he has served more than 20 years in cumulative prison and detention terms in Israel through repeated arrests and administrative detention proceedings.

Hassan Youssef is also known as the father of Mosab Hassan Yousef, known as the “Green Prince,” who left Hamas and became one of its most outspoken critics.