The Jerusalem Police Prosecution Unit today (Wednesday) filed an indictment in the city Magistrate's Court against four Nahlin residents in the Bethlehem area, on suspicion of breaking into three synagogues and three residential apartments.
A resident of East Jerusalem who served as their escape driver was also arrested along with them.
After their arrest, some of the stolen property was returned to its owner.
The five were caught red-handed about three weeks ago, during an operational activity by detectives from the Jerusalem Central Unit while trying to leave Jerusalem via the Ein Yael checkpoint, shortly after breaking into a residential apartment and stealing valuable jewelry.
After their arrest, it became clear that they were behind the burglary of three synagogues, two weeks earlier in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Documentation of the break-in, photo: Police spokeswoman
Their investigation revealed that the four entered Jerusalem about two and a half weeks ago through a breach in the al-Walaja area in the south of the city, reached a street in the Kiryat Yuval neighborhood, broke through the window into two apartments and stole many pieces of jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches and many valuables.
From there, they continued to the Ein Yael checkpoint, where they met with their getaway driver, a resident of East Jerusalem, but as mentioned, were apprehended by a detective force.
As mentioned, the investigators discovered that the cell was responsible for a number of burglary incidents that took place in late October in the Har Nof neighborhood in the compound where three synagogues are located.
On Friday evening they arrived at the compound, first entered one synagogue, sowed much destruction there while searching, and even finding, valuables in the ark.
The four stole valuable items from there, worth about forty thousand shekels, including the silver grenades that adorn the Torah scrolls.
Then they continued to the second synagogue and when they found no valuable objects, they continued to the third synagogue in the compound, stole candlesticks from there and fled with the large amount of loot back to the territories.
The valuables stolen from the synagogues have not been found to date.
According to Superintendent Avishai Proiker, an investigating officer at the Jerusalem Sq.