Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tuesday afternoon that investigations into the remains of the executed Israeli spy Eli Cohen are ongoing in Syria.
Netanyahu confirmed the report of the ongoing investigation in an interview with Tel Aviv-based i24NEWS news channel and it appears to be the first official license of the hunt for Cohen’s remains with the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirms inquiry into Eli Cohen’s execution in Syria
(Photo: Courtesy of i24NEWS)
Cohen was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy best known for his spying work in the 1960s in Syria, where he was a top adviser to the country’s defense minister. He was last unveiled and captured by Syrian Intelligence in 1965, executed and hanged at the main square of Damascus.
The i24NEWS report also said that a source in the Syrian government had confirmed that an “object” thought to belong to the former spy was now in Israeli possession and was being investigated for verification.
According to a source, the Syrians sent to find the object, moving it to Russia, which is currently searching for the remains of Cohen in the area of the al-Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus. The Russians took the matter to Israel.
A Syrian source also said the item could have been a piece of Cohen clothing or a document but did not provide further clarification. The source added that Damascus and Moscow, which have been fighting side by side in the ongoing Syrian civil war for nearly a decade, oppose the concessions requested from Jerusalem for more information. side of Cohen’s body.
In addition, a source close to Russian military intelligence for the Armed Forces General Staff (GRU) i24NEWS reported that the Syrians provided Russian units with detailed maps of the area around the al-Yarmouk refugee camp.
This is the first time a Russian source has confirmed that investigations were underway and that the Syrian army and the Putin administration are cooperating in the effort.
However, the Prime Minister’s Office denied that he had found any of Cohen’s belongings and said the efforts to recover the remains of the late spy had nothing to do with Netanyahu’s links with president of Russia.
“I can say that, in the case of Eli Cohen, we did not stop to look [for his remains], “Netanyahu said in an interview with Army Radio.” I did not say, and I do not say that we do it through Russia, but we do not give. Efforts are continuing and I hope they pay off. “
Cohen’s daughter, Sophie Ben-Dor, influenced Netanyahu’s assertion about the hunt for her father’s remains. “Until the news and conclusions are confirmed, I feel I have nothing to say on the subject,” she said.
“There is a sense that they are playing with us, my family and our feelings. If the prime minister knows something, he should tell us in private and not through the media,” she said.
Working under the name Kamel Amin Thabet, Cohen provided Israel with valuable information regarding the use of the Syrian army in the Golan Heights and described military and political movements until its cover was blown by Syrian anti-Semitism.
Cohen was described by the Syrians as “the greatest Israeli spy ever to work in an Arab country.”