Israeli intelligence agencies conducted an operation to rescue a Mossad agent watch from Syria

Israeli intelligence Mossad conducted a successful operation in Syria to return the wristwatches of the deceased Israeli intelligence officer Elie Cohen to Israel.

Photo: ISRAEL GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE

Details of the operation were not disclosed, its successful completion was announced in the government of the country, writes with the BBC.

The body of a spy executed in Syria in 1960 has not yet been found.

History of implementation

Eli Cohen was born in Egypt in the 1924 year. He began working in the Mossad at the beginning of the 1960s, managing to infiltrate the top echelon of the Syrian government.

He told Israel many Syrian state and military secrets, but was eventually exposed, caught, and publicly hanged in 1965. The Syrian authorities refused to tell where his remains are.

According to the head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, the famous intelligence officer wore the watch returned to Israel until his arrest.

“This watch was part of the working legend of Eli Cohen, who presented himself as an Arab,” said the director of Israeli intelligence.

Legend

According to legend, Eli Cohen was a Syrian businessman named Kamal Amin Tavat.

In 1962, under this name, he began to visit Syria, where he became friends with influential politicians, businessmen and the military. Over time, he increasingly enjoyed their confidence.

The businessman generous on entertainments and gifts has earned popularity among the Syrian officials and military. In his house, located two steps from government residences, often held meetings, which he immediately reported to Israel.

Photo: ISRAEL GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE

Cohen's activities in Syria are shrouded in many legends in which it is difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.

According to one of them, his candidacy was even considered for the post of deputy defense minister of Syria, but there is no official confirmation of this information. According to some sources, Cohen enjoyed the special patronage and confidence of the former Syrian President Amin al-Hafez, whom he met in Argentina.

Amin al-Hafez himself later refuted it.

State secrets

Cohen was able to first-hand extract sensitive information of a strategic nature and transfer it to Israel.

His reports of the deployment of Syrian troops, artillery and armories on the Golan Heights played an important role in the victory of Israel over Syria in the Six-Day War 1967 of the year.

In 1964, Syrian counterintelligence intensified the search for a “mole” who, they suspected, had gained access to classified information in Damascus.

Counterintelligence agents resorted to the help of Soviet experts and the newest direction finder brought from the USSR. 24 January 1965, the agents of the Syrian special services broke into Cohen’s apartment and found him during a communication session with Israel.

Eli Cohen was arrested, tortured and sentenced to death by a military court. He was publicly hanged on a square in Damascus.

Israel appealed to the Syrian authorities to return the body of the intelligence officer, but was refused.

Therefore, the country decided to return home at least Cohen's clock as a symbol of his memory.

“I commend the Mossad fighters for their decisive and courageous operation, the sole purpose of which was to restore to Israel the memory of a great warrior who made an enormous contribution to the security of the state,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The clock was solemnly presented at a closed ceremony to the widow of a scout.

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