Jerusalem Post: The remains of the famous Israeli spy Eli Cohen on its way to Israel from Syria after 54 years of execution

The Israeli news paper the Jerusalem Post posted according to resources, a top confidential information regarding Israel’s top spy Eli Cohen, who was sent to Syria in the Mid sixties, later he was discovered, arrested and executed in 1965.

After 54 years of his execution in Syria, information spread on Sunday night, that the remains of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen on its way to Israel from Syria with a Russian delegation, just weeks after the return of the remains of one of three Israeli soldiers who was missing for nearly four decades, to be buried in Israel.

According to the Jerusalem Post, ministers of the Israeli government refused to comment on the rumors, which were first published by the Channel 12 News on Sunday evening and were questioned by other news channels for lack of official Syrian reports, but only information published on the accounts of social media.

Cohen, an Egyptian-born Jew, was a secret Israeli agent for the Mossad intelligence agency in Syria under the pseudonym “Kamel Amin Thabet”, who provided Israel with important details on Syrian political and military issues.

According to the Israeli newspaper, Cohen was able to build close relations with businessmen and military and government leaders, and became the main adviser to the Syrian Defense Minister.

Cohen’s proposal to the Syrians to plant trees on the Golan Heights near each of their army fortifications especially the most feared Syrian artillery, which enabled the IDF to seize the Golan Heights in the Six Day War two years after his execution.

After his arrest, he was hanged in the Martyrs’ Square in the Syrian capital, Damascus in 1965.

In an attempt to prevent Israel from recovering his body, the Syrian government transferred his remains several times.

Last year, his widow, Nadia, asked Syrian president Bashar Al Assad to accept return her husband’s remains to Israel for burial.

“I appeal to you, until I beg you, to release Eli’s remains”, she said during a speech at the International Multidisciplinary Conference on War Injury Treatment at the Galilee Medical Center.

“I am 83 years old, look at us and forgive us”.

“I’m skeptical of the idea that I’m talking to Assad’s heart”.

I sent letters 18 years ago as well as pictures of our children and grandchildren to soften his heart and release Eli’s body”.

“Eli was an angel who came to this world to play a certain role, to protect his country and his people … he loved Israel and the piece of land we received”.

“He was a Zionist who helped the state and left behind three children who do not even know him”.

Last year, his watch was obtained in a Mossad special operation and presented to Mossad chief Yossi Cohen.

The Prime Minister’s Office didn’t explain how the his watch was restored and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the intelligence service for the operation.

“I pay tribute to the Mossad fighters for the courageous operation, and the only goal is to return to Israel a memorial from a great fighter who has contributed greatly to the security of the state”, he said.

“This year, at the end of an operation, we succeeded in locating the hour that Eli Cohen was placing in Syria until the day of his arrest, and returning it to Israel”, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen was quoted as saying.

The rumor is the body of Cohen, who was transferred from Syria only weeks after the transfer of the remains of IDF soldier Sgt. Zacharia Bommel to Israel with the help of Russia almost 40 years since the announcement of his disappearance during the 1982 Lebanon war.

The Israeli “I 24” channel claimed that the Russian delegation that visited Syria recently left with a coffin containing the remains of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who was executed in Damascus in 1965.

No institution in Israel officially denied the reported transfer of the remains of the spy.

“The publication on the issue is no longer prohibited”, said Israeli Channel 2 correspondent Yaron Avraham.

The spy Cohen was tried and hanged on charges of espionage in Syria after he succeeded in penetrating the highest levels of Syrian authority.

Syria has not responded to Israeli requests over the years to return the remains of Cohen for humanitarian reasons.

In 2004, Israeli President Moshe Katsav appealed to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad through French, German and UN envoys.

Cohen’s information was considered to be very important in Israel’s victory on the Syrian front of the Golan Heights in the six day war at 1967.