PA TV panelist blames ‘the Jews’ for Kardashian heist
Commentator relies on Israeli report saying two of 17 suspects in jewelry theft may be of Jewish descent, neglects the other 15
An Israeli newspaper noted this week that two of the 17 suspects detained in the armed jewelry heist of Kim Kardashian West were Jewish, and for one Palestinian Authority television commentator this was enough to blame the heist on “the Jews.”
“Jews who robbed singer (sic.) Kim Kardashian have been arrested. It turns out that they are Jews,” Fayez Abbas, a so-called “Israel Affairs expert” hosted by the channel, said on the show “Palestine This Morning” on Wednesday.
Abbas neglected to tell his audience about the other 15 suspects, including the two suspected ringleaders, said to be Algerians.
Abbas based his report on an article in Hebrew language daily Yedioth Ahronoth that said two of the suspects were apparently of Jewish origin.
“That is what is written — it’s not me who says they are thieves. That is written in Yedioth Ahronoth , it’s not from me. It says ‘Jews,'” asaid Abbas, according to Palestinian Media Watch, an NGO monitoring the Palestinian media.
“They are thieves. In other words, they steal lands here too, no? But the engagement ring worth $5 million could not be found. They did not find it. The Jews hid it and turned it into something else,” Abbas declared.
French authorities have filed charges against four suspects in the robbery, with more charges expected to follow, the Paris prosecutors’ office said Thursday.
Kardashian West’s sister, Khloe Kardashian, welcomed the step forward in the French probe as a “kind of closure” and denounced the robbery as “a disgusting act” in an interview with The Associated Press.
“From the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich, nobody deserves to be taken, anything to be taken from them,” she said.
Robbers are believed to have forced their way into the private apartment where Kardashian West was staying during Paris Fashion Week in October, tied up the reality TV star and stolen more than $10 million worth of jewelry.
Authorities are focusing on the possibility that the robbery was an inside job.
A 63-year-old suspect, named by the prosecutors only as Yunice A., was handed preliminary charges of armed robbery in an organized gang, kidnapping and criminal association.
Complicity charges in the alleged robbery and kidnapping, as well as a preliminary criminal association charge, were also filed against 44-year-old Florus H., the prosecutors’ office added.
A third suspect, 64-year-old Marceau B., faced preliminary charges of handling stolen goods and criminal association.
All three remain in detention.
Complicity charges and a preliminary criminal association charge also were filed for 27-year-old Gary M., the prosecutors’ office said. He, however, was released from custody, although he remains under judicial supervision.
Gary Madar, 27, is the brother of Kardashian West’s Paris chauffeur, Michael Madar. Both worked for the same car service company, but Michael Madar was freed earlier this week.
Six other people remained in custody and could face preliminary charges on Friday.
Earlier, French authorities released three men and a woman who were among 17 suspects detained Monday.
Kardashian West, meanwhile, used Instagram to reveal that she’s jetting to Dubai for her first major public appearance since the Paris ordeal — headlining a Friday masterclass by her makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic.
“I’m happy that Kim is, like, back,” Khloe Kardashian told AP. “She was working with us, like filming, we were always filming. But that she’s leaving and now that she’s back kind of doing her thing, I love that for her and because it makes her happy.”
