Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told i24NEWS on Wednesday that Israel's efforts to repatriate the remains of the late spy Eli Cohen were ongoing after a report on the international network that one of the items the belonged to the agent, who was captured and hanged in Damascus in 1965, was found.
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Netanyahu all but confirmed Russia was helping in this effort like in previous attempts to find MIAs.
i24NEWS' Jean-Charles Banoun told Netanyahu that "big efforts are being made to find the body of the famous spy Eli Cohen with the help of Russia, can you tell us more about this story?." In response, the prime minister said: "It's true. It's all I can tell you. I am committed to returning every one of our soldiers and our MIAs."
Netanyahu recalled the successful return of the remains of Zachary Baumel in 2019. "That came as a result of the close contact that I have with Russia's [President] Vladimir Putin and he sent his forces under the suggestions of intelligence that we gave them and we are continuing on this effort on Eli Cohen and everyone else."
i24NEWS had earlier reported that a source in the Syrian government "confirmed that a dramatic development has been made in the search for the remains of Israeli spy Eli Cohen." According to i24NEWS, "an item thought to have belonged to the former clandestine agent is now in Israel's possession and is being examined for further evidence. "
Video: i24NEWS
i24NEWS reported that the "Syrians transferred the item to Russia, which is currently searching for Cohen's remains in the region of the al-Yarmouk refugee camp" and that it was later transferred to Israel.
During the interview with i24NEWS, Netanyahu did not provide details on this report and did not confirm it.
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