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Russian media released an unprecedented image of Eli Cohen, a spy who aided Israel’s swift victory over Syria and the Arab coalition in 1967.
Russian TV channel RT aired last week a documentary titled “Spyfall”, which deals with intelligence and counterintelligence in Syria in the 1960s, including the first published images of Eli Cohen, who almost became President of Syria. and is known as Israel’s “007 spy”.
A few seconds-long black and white image shows a man walking the streets of the Syrian capital Damascus, near the Syrian air force headquarters and not far from Cohen’s apartment. The images appear to have been taken by Boris Lokin, the military adviser to the Soviet embassy in Syria, but it is unclear whether he accidentally captured images of Cohen or actively recorded his actions.
Eli Cohen on the streets of Damascus. Video: RT.
Eli Cohen was born on December 6, 1924 in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Although he attended the local Jewish school, Cohen considered himself a patriotic Egyptian. After the Suez Canal Crisis of October 1956, he was deported to Israel and thousands of other Egyptian Jews.
When he arrived in Israel, Cohen was recruited by the country’s intelligence for his ability to speak many languages, ready to participate in intelligence activities in any Arab country.
Israel viewed Egypt and Syria to form the alliance of the United Arab Republic in 1958 as a serious threat. Cohen is tasked with conducting an internal reconnaissance under the new name of Kamel Amin Thaabet, in the guise of a wealthy businessman, to provide information on possible attacks.
In 1962, Cohen began to settle in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Thanks to good relations with General Amin Hafiz, who became Syrian president after the 1963 coup, “Kamel Amin Thaabet” became the main adviser to the Syrian Defense Minister in no time.
Although the Syrian side denies it, many Israeli and Western historians believe that Cohen has a great opportunity to “dive deep, climb high” and become deputy defense minister, even considering occupying the presidency of Syria in 1963.
He has access to confidential information from many important Syrian government agencies such as the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Information, the Central Bank … and sent back to Israel a number of invaluable information on the situation. , economic and military figures in Syria in the early 1960s.
Eli Cohen stayed at his home in the capital Damascus in 1962. Photo: AFP.
Thanks to Cohen, Israeli intelligence was aware of Syria’s military cooperation plan with Iraq, classified information about the Soviet Union’s arms supply to Syria, as well as the stationed positions of the Syrian army, especially in Cao, the original Golan. Thanks to this valuable information, Israel launched a large-scale pre-emptive assault on Egypt in 1967, capturing the Gaza Strip and completely destroying the Egyptian air force before they could go to war.
The Syrian military intelligence agency gradually discovered insiders in the force and began a campaign to search for spies. In January 1965, Cohen was arrested while communicating with Israel. This spy was sentenced to hang on May 18, 1965, ending four years of being deeply rooted in the Syrian government apparatus.
Eli Cohen’s body was not returned to his family in Israel and it is not known where he was buried. The Israeli government had asked Russia to mediate in support of the process of collecting Cohen’s remains, but to no avail.
Vu anh (Follow, continue Times of Israel)
