Real estate bankruptcy leads to break in

Hundreds of clients broke into apartments under construction they purchased from Heftsiba Ltd. in Beit Shemesh, Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit and Ma'ale Adumim Wednesday night, following rumors that the company had gone bankrupt.

Thursday morning, it was reported that the company was indeed examining the possibility of filing for bankruptcy, and that it had appointed an external crew of accountants, economists and lawyers to examine the matter and prepare a recovery plan.

It was reported that following rumors of bankruptcy, rabbis instructed the primarily haredi would-be homeowners to arrive at their apartments so as to establish ownership.

A resident of the area told Ynet that at 11 pm Wednesday the purchasers arrived at their unfinished apartments accompanied by locksmiths who changed the locks and set up camp with sleeping bags in the empty apartments.

Beitar Illit Mayor Yitzhak Pindrus told Ynet that dozens of families entered their apartments through the balconies and windows, adding that most of the families arriving already had permits to enter their apartments and had been at the municipality earlier to connect to water services.

Pindrus denied claims that the move was carried out by the orders or instructions of rabbis, saying, "You don't need to consult a rabbi to save $150,000."

Heftsiba group headed by Mordechai and Boaz Yona of Jerusalem has been operating in Israel since 1960, and is currently building 4,000 housing units across the country.

Over the weekend it was reported that the Electra real estate company would purchase 90% of Heftsiba for $6.95 million, but the shady deal and the low cost led banks to question the company's stability.

In an emergency directorate meeting which was called Thursday following Wednesday's break in, Electra, which is owned by Gershon Zalkind, decided to call off the deal.

A senior Heftsiba employee in the company attempted suicide Thursday morning at a hotel in Jerusalem and was transferred in moderate condition to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.

Heftsiba is simultaneously holding talks with three leading companies to fill Electra's place.

Declaring bankruptcy would protect the thousands of families who have purchased apartments in Heftsiba's projects. The company's total debts are estimated at some NIS 800 million (about $184 million).

Naama Sikuler contributed to this report