The Israeli domestic intelligence service Shin Bet published remarkable footage of the interrogation of Yousef al-Mansi, a former minister in the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip.

“People say … they are crazy, and they destroyed the Gaza Strip,” al-Mansi said when asked about the opinion Gaza’s people have about Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“Everybody hates him, hates him. Many people are praying that he will die, that our Lord will save us from him because his presence ruined the whole world. … He is crazy and decides without consulting anyone. And there are a group of crazy people like him around him.”

“He has megalomania. He always feels like he is above everyone, this is what one hears about him,” al-Mansi said.

He claimed that Sinwar was very unpopular and that the people would demonstrate against him if they could.

Yahya Sinwar is the leader of the terror organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and is known as “the butcher of Khan Younis” for his cruelty.

He was sentenced to several life sentences in an Israeli prison for brutally murdering Palestinians he suspected of cooperation with Israel and was freed as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011.

Al-Mansi added that he heard an elderly man publicly criticizing Hamas’ decision to begin the war against Israel with its murderous assault on Oct. 7.

“I heard this proverb from some old guy, when I was in the market buying stuff — and everybody agreed with him — saying that ‘a mouse attacked a lion, is it wise or crazy?’ That’s how it is.”

The former communications minister put the responsibility for the destruction of the Gaza Strip and the death of thousands of its citizens during the fighting squarely on Hamas.

“It killed more than 25 thousand citizens, more than 60% of buildings, infrastructure, streets and public facilities were destroyed. It destroyed hundreds of mosques and schools, hospitals, people in need, the destruction is great. The Gaza Strip was set back more than 200 years. These are the achievements of Hamas.”

In a longer version of the video, al-Mansi said he arrived for his interrogation on Dec. 7 and had been there for three days, indicating the footage was taken last Sunday. The Shin Bet did not provide further information about the circumstances of al-Mansi’s arrest.

Yousef al-Mansi wasn’t a member of Hamas but worked as a construction engineer spending years building and renovating public buildings in the Gaza Strip, according to Nurit Yohanan, Palestinian affairs correspondent at Kan News.

He was nominated as communications minister by the Hamas-Fatah unity government in 2007, shortly before Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, and remained in his post as part of the Hamas government until 2012.

Republished with permission from All Israel News.