A group of Palestinians colluded with a resident of east Jerusalem to break into and steal valuables from Yad Vashem, the Wilfrid Israel Museum and Caesarea, court documents published on Monday show, as reported by N12.
The string of thefts occurred from August 2020 up until two weeks ago, when they were arrested by police, according to the chief investigator on the case.
The group broke into Yad Vashem on August 31, though the monetary value of what was stolen is still unclear. No historical items appear to have been taken from Yad Vashem itself.
“The break-in to Yad Vashem was in its offices and not in the museum," Yad Vashem said in a statement to The Jerusalem Post. "No historical items or any items of value were stolen.
"Some cash was stolen from the drawer of one of the employees, as well as some chocolate. A beverage machine was also damaged.”
They also stole from the Museum of Kibbutz Hazorea, according to court documents, as well as caused extensive damage to the property. Video evidence of the museum robbery in Kibbutz Hazorea revealed a sophisticated and professional operation.
A total of 33 statues, worth millions of shekels, were taken from the Wilfrid Israel Museum at Kibbutz Hazorea. The museum has an extensive collection of items from East Asia.
In addition to robberies at Yad Vashem, Kibbutz Hazorea and Caesarea, N12 reported that the criminal gang robbed various businesses at Moshav Mishmarot, which included a business selling luxury motorcycles.
"It is true that the suspects are not cooperating and remain silent, but we have a lot of evidence. We followed them and, among other things, we also have forensic evidence of some of the fingerprints we collected," a representative of the police said to N12.