'Israel' retrieves executed spy Eli Cohen's belongings from Syria
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Mossad recovered 2,500 documents and belongings of Israeli spy Eli Cohen in a covert operation in Damascus, 60 years after his execution in Syria.
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In this undated photo released by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the identity documents of Eli Cohen are displayed (AP)
"Israel's" spy agency, Mossad, has retrieved a collection of documents and photographs that belonged to Eli Cohen, the late agent who was executed by hanging in a public square in Damascus 60 years ago after gathering critical intelligence on Syrian military strategies.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office revealed that a "covert and complex Mossad operation, conducted with an allied foreign intelligence service," had secured and brought back to "Israel" 2,500 of Cohen's documents, photographs, and personal belongings.
Reuters requested comment from a Syrian government spokesperson regarding how the trove of documents had been removed from Damascus, but no immediate response was provided.
Who was Eli Cohen?
Born in Egypt to a Jewish family that later migrated to "Israel" following its establishment in 1948, Cohen was recruited by Mossad and deployed to Syria under the guise of a wealthy Syrian businessman who had supposedly returned from South America.
Operating under a false identity, Cohen successfully infiltrated Syria's political elite and relayed sensitive intelligence to his Mossad handlers before being exposed in 1965, subsequently facing arrest, a public trial, and ultimately execution by hanging on May 18 of that year.
Having infiltrated Syria's political elite under an assumed identity, Cohen transmitted crucial intelligence to his Israeli handlers until his capture in 1965, followed by a highly publicized trial that resulted in a death sentence, which was carried out by public hanging on May 18, 1965.
According to Netanyahu's office, the trove of documents and personal effects retrieved by Mossad encompasses family photographs, personal correspondence, the key to Cohen's Damascus residence, operational intelligence reports he sent to his handlers, along with the original Syrian court documents detailing his death sentence and his final will.
'Israel', Syria, in talks to return Eli Cohen remains
According to a senior Israeli intelligence official quoted by Israeli media on Sunday, contacts are currently underway between Syria and "Israel" regarding the return of the remains of Cohen.
These discussions are taking place against the backdrop of continued Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, with one such strike occurring near the presidential palace in Damascus in early May as part of the ongoing campaign.
On Wednesday, Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa acknowledged that indirect negotiations were taking place between the two sides through mediators to avoid further escalation of tensions.
Simultaneously with the negotiations concerning Cohen, the Israeli occupation military and Mossad revealed that they had successfully retrieved the remains of Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman, who had been unaccounted for since the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub in western Lebanon.
The statement explained that Feldman's remains were recovered from deep within Syrian territory through what was described as a "special operation," before being transferred to the occupied Palestinian territories, following what was reported to be years of intelligence collection and field operations.
