JERUSALEM: Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency on Monday unveiled the last telegram sent by late agent Eli Cohen before his arrest by the Syrian authorities in 1965.

Mossad chief David Barnea offered a copy of the telegram — dated February 19, 1965, the estimated date of the agent’s capture — to be displayed at the Eli Cohen Museum.

“Eli Cohen was among our best agents. He continues to influence us and instill in us a fighting spirit, courage, values and devotion,” Barnea said at the museum’s dedication, according to a statement circulated by the Israeli government.

Cohen, whose story is the subject of the Netflix series “The Spy”, was captured after his messages were intercepted by the Syrian authorities, according to Barnea.

“MEETING AT GENERAL QUARTER YESTERDAY AT FIVE GMT WITH AMIN ELHAFEZ AND HIGH OFFICERS,” the final telegram read in French, referring to a meeting between the Syrian president at the time with high-ranking military officers.

Cohen was tried and hanged for espionage by the Syrians that same year, after he had successfully infiltrated the top levels of the Syrian regime.

The information Cohen obtained was seen as key in Israel’s capture and occupation of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Syria, which has never signed a peace treaty with Israel, has failed to respond over the years to Israeli requests to repatriate Cohen’s remains on humanitarian grounds.

In July 2018, the Mossad retrieved a watch belonging to Cohen and brought it back to Israel.

The Eli Cohen Museum in the coastal city of Herzilya is due to open its doors to the public this month, documenting the career of the Egyptian-born spy.

“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,” spy chief Barnea said on Monday.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2022