Remains of Israeli spy Eli Cohen could soon be transferred to Israel from Syria – report

The remains of Israel’s most famous Mossad spy, Eli Cohen, could soon be transferred home from Syria amid the continuing thaw of relations between Jerusalem and Damascus, the Saudi news outlet al-Hadath reported on Sunday.

The report has not yet been independently verified and offers no additional details. Israeli officials later told reporters, “We are not aware of this.”

The issue of returning Cohen’s body has been brought up repeatedly as part of the negotiations between the Syrian and Israeli governments over a new security arrangement, and is seen as a possible gesture of goodwill on the part of the new regime.

Nadia, the widow of Eli Cohen, responded to the report, telling Ynet News she felt “a bit of an internal whirlwind from the recent report.”

“Especially now, I feel more hopeful that what’s happening in Syria allows for greater flexibility and more connection, and I think this is the time to demand Eli’s body,” she added.

Israeli governments have attempted to locate Cohen’s body numerous times over the past decades. After posing as a businessman returning from South America, Cohen managed to infiltrate the highest ranks of the Syrian Ba'athist military regime until he was captured and executed in 1965 and buried in Damascus.

This May, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, in a covert operation recovered the official Syrian intelligence archive about Eli Cohen. The archive contains some 2,500 original documents, photographs and personal items.

Cohen’s widow said that she contacted the Mossad to find out more details about the new report.

“I called after I saw the news, and they told me they’re not familiar with the story and that they have no knowledge of any remains being returned. So, for now, I have nothing to say. I’m always full of optimism – it’s constantly in my mind and in my soul. I don’t lose hope.”

She added: “This whole story, this war, took me back – every moment and every second – to years of struggle, pain, and longing.”

Cohen also wants to contact Gal Hirsch, the government’s Coordinator for Captives and Missing Persons, “so he can invite us to the Knesset tomorrow to speak with Trump, who might bring us a bit of joy and hope.”

After the archive was recovered in May, Nadia Cohen told Ynet, “I want the body. I want Eli. I hope that before I die, before I close my eyes, Eli will have a grave here.”