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Last update - 01:38 23/04/2008 Police: J'lem thieves profit from foreign residents' empty homes By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: rich, police, burglars  Jerusalem Police say the number of house break-ins in the capital has been decreasing steadily since January, down 17.6 percent to "just" 900, from 1,100 during the same months last year. But that is cold comfort to the wealthy French and British Jews who bought apartments here for holiday visits and are increasingly targeted by gangs of thieves. In recent years, many foreigners have purchased apartments in Jerusam's upscale neighborhoods, which stand empty most of the year awaiting their owners' arrival. The wave of foreign real estate investment, which caused a steep rise in city apartment prices, created a considerable number of "ghost streets," where few people live year-round. "All the apartments in our building that belong to overseas residents have been burgled," a neighbor said this week. "The latest break-in even took place in broad daylight. The thieves claimed to be workmen there to replace windows. Only later did we find out they had broken in to the house." Advertisement One of the streets that has fallen prey to burglar gangs is Alkelai Street in the picturesque Talbieh neighborhood. One building has had four apartments burglarized within a six-week period. Three belong to overseas tenants. "The thieves have lost all fear of the police," one neighbor said. "In one apartment they tore out the alarm system, and in three other apartments they pulled out the window bars. The next step will be that they enter the apartments while the tenantsare home." The thieves evidently gather "intelligence" about empty houses, or houses where the owners have gone on vacation. "Based on our experience, it is likely that the burglars performed a lengthy surveillance of the building and identified the empty apartments," a Jerusalem District police officer said Tuesday. Numerous apartments are currently under renovation in Jerusalem's swankier areas, and the gangs apparently took advantage of these to case other apartments and find out which had tenants. Police officials could not say Tuesday how many apartments belonging to foreign residents have been burglarized, but there are approximately 25 home and car break-ins a day. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Double agent U.S. arrests American over suspected nuclear espionage for Israel. Conspiracy theory Al-Qaida: Hezbollah started rumor that Israel planned 9/11   1.   These burglaries arent all bad 03:55  |  :-) 23/04/08

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