RIYADH (Dispatches) -- The Saudi channel Al-Hadath has reported that the remains of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who infiltrated Syria’s political elite in the 1960s, are expected to be returned to Israel soon. 
Cohen was captured and executed by the Syrian government in 1965, buried in Damascus. Over the decades, requests by Tel Aviv to recover his body or exchange it for Syrian prisoners have been consistently rejected—until now. 
This unexpected report comes amid ongoing efforts by Israel to secure a new security arrangement with the current Damascus authorities, which since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government last December are controlled by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a militant takfiri coalition led by Abu Muhammad al-Jolani and affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Daesh.
However, this claim has not been independently verified, and Cohen’s widow, Nadia Cohen, told Israeli media that the Mossad has no knowledge of such a transfer.
The HTS regime, despite its brutal record and extremist ideology, appears eager to appease Israel. This is striking given Israel’s history of massive bombing campaigns targeting Syrian infrastructure, as well as its ongoing military occupation near Damascus. 
Israel exploits HTS’s sectarian violence—especially massacres against minority groups such as the Druze, Alawites, Shias, and Christians—to further its divide-and-rule strategy. 
Israeli leaders have actively provoked Druze communities by falsely claiming to support them against HTS, aiming to deepen Syria’s fragmentation and weaken national resistance.
Under Bashar al-Assad, Syria was a key supporter of regional resistance against Israeli expansionism and colonial ambitions, which have only intensified. 
Israeli officials openly discuss plans for a “Greater Israel,” threatening to redraw borders and consolidate control over Palestinian and Syrian lands. 
The fall of Assad and rise of HTS have dramatically shifted the balance, with Israel exploiting the chaos to further its strategic goals.
Last month, a senior Trump administration official told The Times of Israel that an Israel-Syria security agreement was “99%” complete, with an announcement expected soon—though this has yet to materialize. 
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces maintain multiple posts inside southern Syria, largely within a UN-monitored buffer zone.
Cohen’s potential return would be a powerful symbolic gesture, signaling a new phase in Israel-HTS relations. Yet it also underscores the painful reality of Syria’s ongoing fragmentation and the erosion of resistance to Israeli colonial designs—a stark contrast to the legacy of Assad’s steadfast opposition.