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Israeli police in Paris find 43 more clocks stolen from museum By Jonathan Lis Jerusalem police investigators in France have recovered an additional 43 timepieces stolen from Jerusalem's L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in the 1980s, Haaretz has learned. Now, just 10 out of 106 lifted clocks remain missing. In the course of the probe, investigators came upon a number of safes under the name of Na'aman Diller (Lidor) in several European cities. A few days ago, they arrived in Paris after receiving permission to open two of the safes. Advertisement Sergeant Major Oded Shama said the investigators located the stolen timepieces with the help of French police. "We came to understand that Diller's base of operation was Paris, and that from there he traveled to other European capitals where he also kept safes," he said. In addition to the clocks, investigators also found a music box and jewelry stolen in the heist. Diller's safes included some of the most intricately decorated timepieces stolen from the museum, but not necessarily the rarest or most valuable. Police sources said yesterday that Diller had stolen the timepieces he believed would sell the fastest, due to their decorations and gold and jewel inlays. Investigators found that one of the safes was opened in 1984, and that since then Diller had opened it several times. Another safe was opened in 1996, but remained closed until last week. Police are currently searching other safes around Europe, trying to locate dozens of additional items that have yet to be recovered. Jerusalem District Police discovered last month that Diller, one of Israel's top antiquities thieves during the 1960s and 70s, had operated alone in the great clock heist of April 1983. He held a number of the timepieces in bank safes in the United States and Europe until his death from heart disease four years ago. On his deathbed he told his widow, Nili Shomrat, that he had committed the theft, and bequeathed her the stolen property. A deal was eventually struck between Shomrat and the museum whereby 40 of the clocks would be returned in exchange for $150,000. Among the looted timepieces is one called "the Marie Antoinette," created by the famed clock-maker Louis Breguet, valued at $30 million and known as the "Mona Lisa of clocks." The total collection is valued at several hundred million dollars. Bookmark to del.icio.us   The King is dead Archeologists find new evidence for King Herod's tomb site. Al-Hasbara Israel launches Arabic YouTube channel to bypass Arab media.

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