A Syrian intelligence offical who sat in Israeli prison for 12 years was assassinated by Israel last week, Syrian media reported over the weekend.

Madhat al-Saleh’s death, which occurred in the Syrian town of Ain Eltinah near the Israeli border with the Golan Heights, was initially believed to be the result of an Israeli airstrike in Syria but later reports clarified that he was shot by a sniper from the Israeli side of the border as he stood next to his home.

The IDF did not comment on the reports, in accordance with its policy of not acknowledging strikes in Syria.

لحظة الإفراج عن الأسير السوري المحرر مدحت الصالح عام 1997 من سجون الاحتلال، حيث أصبح بعدها نائبا في مجلس الشعب السوري، وحاليا مدير مكتب شؤون الجولان في الحكومة السورية pic.twitter.com/WAerQORDFn

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) October 16, 2021

Al-Saleh, 54, was a resident of the village of Majdal Shams in the northern Golan Heights when he was arrested by Israeli security forces in 1985 for attempting to kidnap an IDF soldier. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

After being released in 1997, Al-Salah crossed the border to Syria and later served as a representative of the Golan Heights in the Syrian parliament for four years.

After his stint in parliament, he served in Syrian intelligence and was appointed by Syrian President Bashar Assad as director of the Golan Heights bureau, using his position to try to recruit Syrians living in the Golan Heights to serve as intellegence operatives in Israel.

Israeli media reports said that al-Saleh also served as an Iranian operative for activities against Israel.

The assassination is likely tied to Israel’s efforts to thwart the presence of Hezbollah and Iranian proxies on the Syrian side of the Golan border.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)