Israel Tries Again to Locate Eli Cohen’s Body in Syria

Photo Credit: PMO

Israeli spy Eli Cohen in Syria in the 1960s.

The State of Israel is once again trying to find the body of the famed Israeli spy, Eli Cohen, in Syria.

According to a report Saturday by the Lebanese Hezbollah-linked Al-Akhbar news outlet, citing diplomatic sources, Israel has reached out to “foreign parties and Syrians” to located Cohen’s grave to finally bring home his remains.

Cohen, who infiltrated the highest echelons of Syria’s political leadership, entered the country as “Kamel Amin Thabet,” a businessman from a Syrian family who emigrated to Latin America, according to Haaretz.

Cohen was captured and hanged in Damascus in 1965 under the regime of President Amin al-Hafiz, and his burial site was concealed. Subsequent Syrian regimes likewise have refused to reveal the whereabouts of Cohen’s grave.

Two years ago during the opening of a museum established in Cohen’s memory, Mossad chief David Barnea revealed the final message he sent out on January 19, 1965, the day of his capture.

The transmission was “about a discussion at the Syrian General Staff with the participation of then-president Amin al-Hafez,” Barnea said.

“Eli Cohen was captured simply because his transmissions were intercepted and triangulated by the enemy,” the Mossad chief said. “This is now an intelligence fact.”

The critical information Eli Cohen provided was used to help Israel win the 1967 Six Day War.