Mossad chief unveils real reason behind Israeli spy Eli Cohen’s capture in Syria

Mossad director David Barnea revealed for the first time that the late legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen was captured in Syria because his transmissions back to Israel were intercepted and “triangulated by the enemy.”

Eli Cohen engaged in covert Israeli operations in Egypt, where he was born in 1924, and was later recruited by Mossad to infiltrate the Syrian government.

During his years in Syria from 1962-65, Cohen managed to strike relationships with high ranking Syrian officials, and transmitted back the intelligence he gathered to Mossad’s headquarter in Israel.

Cohen was hanged in Marjeh Square in Damascus on 18 May 1965 after he had been caught spying for Israel.

Barnea, who attended the dedication of the Eli Cohen Museum in Herzliya on Monday, said that the reason for Cohen’s capture has “always been controversial,” with some suggesting he was captured due to the quantity of his transmissions or pressure from headquarters to transmit too frequently.

None of that is true, Barnea said: “Eli Cohen was captured because his transmissions were simply intercepted and triangulated by the enemy. This is now an intelligence fact,” made possible by in-depth research.

Barnea also revealed the last telegram Cohen sent before he was caught by the Syrians: “Today, the Mossad will give to the Museum the last telegram that Eli Cohen sent as a free man. The telegram is dated to 19 February 1965, the day of his capture, on which he reported about a discussion at the Syrian General Staff with the participation of then President Amin Al-Hafez.”

“The Mossad has worked, and will continue to work, to reveal intelligence and new details about the period in which Eli Cohen served in Syria, and will continue to work to bring his remains for burial in Israel,” Barnea concluded.