Bogus Lebanese Claim: Israeli ‘Wonder Woman’ Actress is ‘Mossad agent’

‘Al Liwaa’ newspaper concocts story claiming ‘Wonder Woman’ actress recruited a Lebanese actor to spy for Israel.

The Lebanese daily newspaper Al Liwaa ran a front page story claiming that ‘Wonder Woman’ actress Gal Gadot is doubling as a Mossad agent and that she allegedly recruited Lebanese actor and director Ziad Itani to spy for Israel.

The front page photo of Gadot carried the caption: “The officer of the Israeli Mossad, Collette Vianfi, who recruited Ziad Itani.” Other Lebanese news sites questioned the authenticity of the photo and debunked it as a fabrication. On Friday, Lebanon’s security services issued a statement confirming that Itani is in custody on suspicion of spying for Israel.

According to Ynet, the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported on Saturday that Itani’s involvement with Israel began when he was contacted on Facebook in 2014 by an “attractive woman, 30 years old with black hair, white skin and green eyes, who introduced herself as Collette Vianfi.” Al Akhbar goes on to claim that Itani was recruited by an Israeli intelligence officer and met Israeli agents in Turkey in 2016. The Israeli handler reportedly asked Itani about security in southern Lebanon and whether Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation was genuine.

Lebanese journalist Tareq Damlaj tried to explain the mistake, saying, “People were spreading the photo of actress Gal Gadot on the social media, especially through WhatsApp, believing it was a photo of the Israeli officer.”

Gadot was born and raised in Israel and was crowned Miss Israel in 2004 before serving for two years as a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces. Gadot was never a member of the Mossad spy agency, but she did play an ex-Mossad agent in one of the “The Fast and the Furious” movies.

By: United with Israel Staff