Watch of famed Israeli spy Eli Cohen recovered by Mossad
Mossad chief Yossi Cohen presented the watch to Eli Cohen’s family during a ceremony in his honor held a few weeks ago. The watch is now on display at Mossad headquarters.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: JULY 5, 2018 18:08Recovered watch of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, July 5, 2018.(photo credit: AMOS BEN GERSHOM, GPO)
Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency succeeded in retrieving the wristwatch that belonged to famed Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who was caught and murdered in Syria in 1965.The watch was obtained in a special Mossad operation carried out recently.Mossad chief Yossi Cohen presented the watch to Eli Cohen’s family during a ceremony in his honor held a few weeks ago. The watch is now on display at Mossad headquarters and will be given to the family after the upcoming Rosh Hashana holiday.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Mossad for an operation whose sole purpose, he said, “was to bring back to Israel a memory of a great fighter who contributed greatly to the State of Israel.”Cohen operated behind enemy lines - establishing close ties with the top Syrian political and military leadership - from 1962 until he was hanged almost exactly 43 years ago on May 18, 1965. Cohen, who was known in intelligence circles by the number 566, wrote in encrypted French and sent his messages via a tiny radio transmitter. Cohen's transmissions were instrumental in helping the IDF prepare for the 1967 war with Syria. He provided information about the Syrian Air Force and military positions on the Golan.
