JAKARTA - Israel's spy agency Mossad has rediscovered a large number of documents and photos belonging to its late agent, Eli Cohen, who was hanged in the central square of Damascus six decades ago after gathering intelligence on Syria's military plans.
Cohen's 2,500 documents, photos and personal items were brought to Israel after a "secret and complicated Mossad operation, in collaboration with the allied foreign intelligence services", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
Cohen was born in Egypt from a Jewish family who moved to Israel after the country was founded in 1948. He joined Mossad and was sent to Syria, posing as a Syrian businessman who returned to the country from South America.
After infiltrating Syrian political leadership under a pseudonym, he sent high-level intelligence back to the Israelis who took care of it. However, he was caught in 1965, tried, and sentenced to death. He was hanged on May 18, 1965.
Documents and items that Mossad found included family photos, documents, and keys to its apartment in Damascus, as well as operational materials as reported to its administrators, PM Netanyahu's office said.
The documents also include the original death penalty handed down by the Syrian court and his will.
Several original documents and personal items were handed over to Cohen's widow, Nadia, said PM Netanyahu's office.
Last month, Israel said it had found the body of a soldier, Zvi Feldman, who died in fighting with Syrian troops in Lebanon in 1982.
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Separately, a spokesman for the Syrian Government did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on how the 'treasure' left Damascus, where Bashar al-Assad's ouster last year has plagued alliances and hostilities that already exist throughout the region.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Syria since former rebel Ahmed al-Sharaa, once a leader of al Qaeda, took office in December, but the new government in Damascus has responded in a reconciling language, saying it wants peace with all countries.
Sharaa said this month that Syria had held indirect talks with Israel to reduce tensions.
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