After six months and $20,000, residents in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood retrieved four Torah scrolls stolen by Palestinian Authority Arab thieves.

Rabbi Moshe Ben Abu told Arutz Sheva, “Thieves broke into our new synagogue six months and stole four new Torah scrolls.”

He explained that one of the Arab workers apparently took the key and gave it to the thieves.

The community was shocked, and the leader of the synagogue, named after his father, announced he would award money to anyone who could bring back the Torah scrolls from captivity.

“Everyone did whatever possible to retrieve them,” Rabbi Ben Abu said. “We finally reached the Arab thieves in Ramallah and agreed on payment of $20,000.”

Despite having to award the thieves, he said the return of the Torah scrolls was a happy occasion and explained, “The thieves already had torn one of the Torah scrolls, and we simply had to retrieve the others. This is a great and happy occasion for the People of Israel.”

In light of the theft, a warning protection system has been installed in most of the synagogues in the Gilo neighborhood to prevent other thefts.