This is what a 25-year double life looks like. A man who publicly supported Palestine while secretly reporting to Mossad.

In 2008, Lebanese authorities arrested Ali al-Jarrah and his brother Youssef in the Beqaa Valley and charged them with spying for Israel. Ali confessed to working for Mossad for 25 years — since 1983, one year after Israel's invasion of Lebanon. He said he was recruited by Israeli officers who had imprisoned him during the conflict.

For over two decades, Ali posed as a supporter of Palestinian causes and was a member of a Palestinian militant group. In reality, he was photographing Hezbollah supply routes, tracking the movements of political leaders, and reporting on Syrian military positions. Investigators found sophisticated communication and surveillance equipment hidden in his home and car. He received over $300,000 in payments and was given Israeli passports to travel to Israel for training and debriefing sessions. In 2011, a Lebanese military court convicted him and sentenced him to life in prison.

Ali al-Jarrah is a relative of Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. The New York Times reported that the two men were approximately 20 years apart in age and "do not appear to have known each other well." No official investigation has established any connection between Ali's espionage activities and Ziad's involvement in the 9/11 attacks.

This case was first reported in 2008 and is resurfacing on social media in 2026.