Legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen may have been buried near unidentified military barracks outside Damascus, Syrian security officer Saeed Jawish claimed in an interview with the Saudi-owned Al Majalla on Saturday.
Cohen, a Mossad agent best known for his work in Syria, operated under the alias Kamel Amin Thabet, posing as a wealthy Syrian businessman who had returned to Damascus after years in Argentina. His cover was ultimately blown in January 1965, when Syrian counterintelligence caught him transmitting messages to Israel. He was arrested, tried for espionage and publicly hanged in Damascus on May 18, 1965.
Jawish, who claims to have been involved in the operation that led to Cohen’s arrest, explained that he and five other Syrian officers heavily debated the matter of where to bury the spy the night before his execution.
“We said the Israelis would not let the matter go and would try to obtain his remains, so each of us began suggesting a place where he could be buried,” Jawish told Al Majalla.
According to Jawish, another Syrian official named Adnan Tayara suggested burying Cohen at the entrance to a military barracks that already had permanent security.
Eli Cohen relaxing in his Damascus residence, 1963. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
That way, Tayara had explained at the time, “the grave would not need special guarding.”
“There were several barracks, and I do not know which one was chosen,” Jawish said in the interview. “The person who knows is [Syrian Warrant Officer] Melhem Qassem, who attended the burial.”
Since Cohen’s execution, Syria has refused to return his remains, which have allegedly been buried multiple times to prevent Israel from finding and returning them.
Nearly a year ago, Saudi state-run news outlet Al-Hadath reported that Cohen’s remains could be returned to Israel in a deal with Syria.
The report followed the Mossad’s seizure of 2,500 documents on Cohen. Additionally, Reuters reported at the time that Syria’s leadership approved the handover of the remains to Israel in a bid to ease Israeli hostility and show goodwill to US President Donald Trump.
Israel seeks return of Jewish remains buried in Lebanon as part of prisoner talks
More recently, Hezbollah-linked Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that Israel and Lebanon discussed what was referred to as a “civilian prisoner exchange deal” during recent negotiations, with Israeli officials raising the possibility of transferring the remains of Jews buried in Lebanese cemeteries to Israel.
According to the report, the issue was raised during discussions over Lebanese prisoners and detainees held by Israel. The discussions focused on individuals classified by Israel as civilians whose ties to Hezbollah were unclear, but who Israel said nevertheless posed a threat to IDF troops and were detained on those grounds.
The Israeli representatives specifically referred to what Al-Akhbar described as a significant number of remains buried in Jewish cemeteries in Beirut and Sidon.
The report came after Israel and Lebanon’s recent round of talks in Rome, which a source speaking to The Jerusalem Post at the time described as “positive.”
Shir Perets and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.