Sources: Syrian government found Eli Cohen dossier in state security building, offered it indirectly to Israel to ease tensions

AMMAN/DAMASCUS, Jordan/Syria — Syria’s leadership approved the handover of the belongings of long-dead spy Eli Cohen to Israel in a bid to ease Israeli hostility and show goodwill to US President Donald Trump, three sources tell Reuters.

Israel announced its recovery of the trove of documents, photographs and personal possessions relating to Cohen on Sunday, saying its spy agency Mossad had worked with an unnamed foreign intelligence agency to secure the material.

However, a Syrian security source, an adviser to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and a person familiar with backchannel talks between the countries say the archive of material was found by the rebels in a state security building, and offered to Israel as an indirect gesture by Sharaa as he seeks to cool tensions and build Trump’s confidence.

Cohen, who was hanged in 1965 in a downtown Damascus square after infiltrating Syria’s political elite, is still regarded as a hero in Israel and Mossad’s most celebrated spy for uncovering military secrets that aided its lightning victory in the 1967 Six Day War.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Cohen on Sunday as a legend and “the greatest intelligence agent in the annals of the state.”

While Israel has long sought to recover his body for reburial at home, the return of his archive held for 60 years by Syrian intelligence was hailed by Mossad as “an achievement of the highest moral order.”

Israel has not publicly revealed how the archive came into its possession, saying only that it was the result of “a covert and complex Mossad operation, in cooperation with an allied foreign intelligence service.”

After rebels led by Sharaa suddenly ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December, ending his family’s 54-year-long rule, they found the Cohen dossier in a state security building, according to the Syrian security source.

Sharaa and his foreign advisers quickly decided to use the material as leverage, the source added.

The Syrian security source said Sharaa had realised that the Cohen archive was important to the Israelis and that its return could amount to a significant diplomatic gesture.

Netanyahu’s office, Syrian officials, and the White House do not immediately respond to requests for comment on Syria’s role in Israel’s recovery of the Cohen archive.