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Businessman Kamel Amin Thaabet arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus in 1962. He threw lavish parties, became part of the city's social elite and quickly gained access to the country's most powerful men. Three years later, he was publicly executed in central Damascus' Marjeh Square. Why? Because Kamel Thaabet was Eli Cohen, an elite spy working for Israel's Mossad.
Israeli authorities are intensifying efforts to recover Cohen's body. Known as one of Israel's most legendary spies, Cohen's infiltration of Syria's political and military elite provided intelligence crucial to Israel's success in the 1967 Six-Day War. Despite decades of attempts, the location of Cohen's burial site is undisclosed, with Syrian authorities reportedly relocating his body multiple times to prevent their retrieval.
Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt, to a family of Egyptian Jews. Following the establishment of Israel in 1948, Cohen's family immigrated to the newly founded state. Cohen himself followed in 1957, after years of Zionist activism that reportedly included aiding the covert migration of Egyptian Jews to Israel.
After serving in Israeli military intelligence, Cohen was recruited by Mossad in the early 1960s. Using his fluency in Arabic, Spanish, and French, Mossad crafted an elaborate cover identity for Cohen. He became Kamel Amin Thaabet, a Syrian businessman whose family had emigrated to Argentina. Cohen relocated to Buenos Aires, where he ingrained himself within the Arab and Syrian diasporas, gaining trust and access that would later prove critical to his mission.
In 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus under his assumed identity, where he quickly ascended to prominence within Syrian society. Known for hosting lavish parties attended by influential political and military figures, Cohen used these gatherings to extract valuable intelligence. His efforts yielded detailed information about Syrian fortifications in the Golan Heights, later aiding Israel's capture of the territory in the Six-Day War.
Cohen's espionage activities, however, came to an abrupt end in 1965. Syrian intelligence, with assistance from the Soviet Union, identified his covert radio transmissions to Israel. On January 24, 1965, Syrian authorities raided his home. Cohen was arrested, tried, and convicted of espionage.
Despite international pleas for clemency, Cohen was publicly hanged on May 18, 1965.
Since his execution, the whereabouts of Cohen's body have been a source of contention. Syria has consistently refused Israeli requests to repatriate his body, rejecting multiple offers of prisoner exchanges. Syrian officials have admitted to relocating it multiple times to thwart Israeli recovery attempts.
In 2018, Mossad successfully retrieved Cohen's wristwatch from Syria.
The collapse of the Assad regime in parts of Syria has created new opportunities for negotiation. Reports suggest that Israeli officials, including Mossad Director David Barnea, are directly involved in talks with former members of the Assad government. These discussions are reportedly facilitated by Russian mediators.