The son of the leading Hamas figure in Judea and Samaria (the so-called "West Bank") said in an interview with Ha'aretz that he has converted to Christianity and repented of his sins for being an active part of a culture of hate and death that targeted God's Chosen.

Massab Yousef, son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, spoke to the Israeli newspaper from a cafe in California. He knows that he can never return to visit his family in Ramallah without facing certain death.

Saying that he now prefers to be called "Joseph," the young man urged his Jewish interviewer and the entire nation of Israel to beware of phony peace gestures by Hamas or any other Arab authorities that are ultimately guided by Islam.

"You Jews should be aware: You will never, but never have peace with Hamas. Islam, as the ideology that guides them, will not allow them to achieve a peace agreement with the Jews," he said. "They believe that tradition says that the Prophet Mohammed fought against the Jews and that therefore they must continue to fight them to the death."

Massab said it is adherence to Islam that has turned Palestinian and wider Middle East Arab society into one that "sanctifies death and the suicide terrorists."

Massab's family later denied the report that he had become a Christian, and suggested that they are considering legal action against Ha'aretz.