"No one in Syria knows where Eli Cohen is buried, and so Israel will have a difficult time receiving his remains," claims a man who served as Bureau Chief to former Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad.
The former official, Munzar Al-Musli, who met Cohen before he was executed, told Arabic TV network Al Arabiya in an interview Friday: "We buried Cohen three times, in three different places. The grave was relocated after a day or two. We were afraid that Israel would secretly land forces and snatch the remains. It is difficult to locate Cohen's remains. He [Hafez Al-Assad] promised to return Cohen's remains, and when he asked for it, the people in the security apparatus told him 'Sir, we do not know where the grave is,' so he couldn't promise [sic]."
Greatest Mossad Agent Ever
Eli Cohen worked as a Mossad agent in Damascus, Syria under the alias of Kamal Amin Ta'abet from 1962 until his exposure and execution on May 18, 1965. Cohen was able to supply considerable details on Syrian political and military matters because of his strong interpersonal skills and abilities to build close ties with business, military, and Ba'ath Party leaders, as well as with Syrian President Amin el Hafiz. He was hanged in Martyr's Square with the television cameras rolling for the entire world to see.
Eli Cohen is considered the greatest Mossad agent Israel has ever known, and a hero who sacrificed his life for the sake of Israel, his fellow Jews, his children and his family.
Highly Informative Reports
Cohen was the only Syrian civilian to receive private tours of military installations, and was even photographed in the Golan Heights, then controlled by Syria, along with high ranking Syrian officials. He was thus able to send highly informative reports back to Israel regarding the Syrian project for rerouting water from the Jordan and containing details of every single outpost on the Golan, including tank traps designed to impede any Israeli attack.
It is said that Cohen suggested to the Syrians that they plant eucalyptus trees near their fortifications on the Golan. When Israel attacked the Golan in 1967, the trees marked out exactly where the Syrian fortifications were. The story is disputed by some as mere legend.
The Syrian government still has not returned his remains to his family for a proper Jewish burial in Israel where 'Kaddish' can be said at his gravesite.