Murders of Neta Sorek and Kristine Luken

Last updated

Kristine Luken was an American Christian who was murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack on December 18, 2010, while hiking with her friend Kay Wilson in the hills of Jerusalem. [1] Despite multiple stab wounds, Wilson survived the attack; Luken's body was later found by Israeli police, bound and stabbed to death. The Palestinian terror cell that perpetrated the attack were later arrested. During the investigation, the cell members also confessed to the murder of Neta Sorek, whose stabbed body had been found earlier that year near the Beit Jimal Monastery in the Judean Hills. The Palestinian terrorists were convicted of a series of violent crimes.

Contents

Murder of Neta Sorek

Murder of Neta Sorek
Part of the Palestinian Terrorism
Israel outline jerusalem.png
Red pog.svg
The attack site
Location Beit Jimal Monastery, Judean Hills, Israel
Coordinates 31°43′30″N34°58′35″E / 31.72500°N 34.97639°E / 31.72500; 34.97639
Date24 February 2010;14 years ago (2010-02-24)
Attack type
Stabbing attack
WeaponsKnife
VictimNeta Sorek (53)
AssailantsIbrahim Ghanimat [2]
Kifah Ghanimat [2]

Background

Neta Sorek (Hebrew : נטע שורק), aged 53, grew up in Israel at Kibbutz Afikim. She later moved to Sweden and then to the United States, but after two decades abroad, she returned to Israel, married and had a daughter. She had worked as an English–language teacher in Zikhron Ya'akov for 13 years and was a member of the feminist group Women for Peace, participating in joint Arab-Jewish projects. Her family said she believed in co-existence; she studied Arabic and met with Arab women from villages in northern Israel. In love with nature, she regularly walked outdoors. [3] [4]

On the day of the attack Sorek was on a vacation in small guest house located near the Beit Jimal Monastery. Shortly after she reached the site she headed out for a walk around the monastery, where she was murdered.[ citation needed ]

The attack

On 24 February 2010, members of a Palestinian terrorist cell illegally infiltrated into Israel from Surif, a Palestinian Authority-controlled area, through gaps in the security barrier near Betar Illit. They burgled a house and stole a car from Beit Shemesh and then drove to the Beit Jimal Monastery, waiting for nightfall to make their return to Surif. At the monastery, they spotted Sorek walking alone in the monastery gardens and decided to murder her. They stabbed her to death and fled the vicinity in their stolen car.

Sorek's family were informed several hours later that she had not returned to the place where she was staying. The police were alerted and the Beit Shemesh police station began to investigate her disappearance. Dissatisfied with the police efforts, her family began to search for Neta by themselves. They knew that she had visited the monastery and approximated her whereabouts; eventually, her cousin and two friends discovered her body. Initially the police suspected a suicide [ clarification needed ] but, after an autopsy was conducted, results showed her death was caused as a result of foul play. An investigation was launched to find Neta's murderers. [3] [4] [5]

Murder of Kristine Luken

Murder of Kristine Luken
Part of the Palestinian Terrorism
Israel outline jerusalem.png
Red pog.svg
The attack site
LocationMata forest, Beit Shemesh
Coordinates 31°43′45″N35°02′04″E / 31.72917°N 35.03444°E / 31.72917; 35.03444
Date18 December 2010;13 years ago (2010-12-18)
Attack type
Stabbing attack
WeaponsKnife
DeathsKristine Luken (44)
InjuredKay Wilson (46)
AssailantsAiad Fatfata [2]
Kifah Ghanimat [2]

Background

Luken, aged 44, [6] was an American citizen and a member of the Church's Ministry among Jewish people (CMJ), a Christian group based in the United States and the UK. She was born in Texas and lived for many years in Virginia while working for the US Department of Education before leaving to work for CMJ. She had recently moved to Nottingham, England, where she worked as a ministry staffer. She had first visited Israel in 2007 as part of a Christian pilgrimage to holy sites and she described the tour as furthering her religious understanding and deepening her relationship with God. Luken met Kay Wilson, a British-born Israeli citizen, in August 2010 on a trip to Poland where Wilson was guiding. They visited death camps and Jewish community centers. They became friends and Luken, a keen hiker, and Wilson, a professional Israeli tour guide, decided to go hiking together in Israel during the Christmas holiday. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Attack

On Saturday afternoon, 18 December 2010, Luken and Wilson were hiking in the Mata forest, near the town of Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem. They noticed two Arab men, Aiad Fatfata and Kifah Ghanimat, approaching them and were suspicious of their intentions. The men attacked them armed with a long serrated knife. The women attempted to fight back, Wilson managing to stab an attacker with a pocketknife, before they were subdued. The men stole their money and removed Wilson's necklace. Wilson recalled: "I didn't understand whether they wanted to rape us or mug us. They removed my Star of David. I tried to convince them we weren't Jewish."

Wilson instructed Luken to feign an epileptic attack and told their assailants that they were part of a tour group that would soon be returning. After half an hour at being held at knife point, their shoes were removed and their hands tied behind their backs. After being gagged with parts of a fleece jacket, the two women were separated and forced to kneel on hands and knees. The two women begged for their lives to be spared but were then stabbed multiple times. Wilson later told police: "I realized he was going to behead me. I saw Kristine murdered before my eyes. She was yelling. I didn't want it to hurt me. I tried to keep silent. It was tough, because the beatings were hard, but I tried to play dead."

Wilson was stabbed 13 times and sustained several broken ribs, punctured lungs and diaphragm, a dislocated shoulder, a broken shoulder blade, and a broken sternum; Luken was fatally stabbed in the attack. The attackers returned a few minutes later to confirm that the two women were dead. Wilson was stabbed again in the chest. She said: "I played dead. I saw [the knife] hadn't gone into my heart. My friend was dying, I heard her making gurgling sounds." Wilson regained consciousness and found herself between bushes in the forest. Feeling weak and severely injured, she tried to shift herself to the forest trail so that other people might discover her. She recounted: "I just wanted to sleep and felt as though I were about to collapse, but I knew I could not fall asleep. I tried to get up three times and fell down, I deviated from the path and couldn't find my way, and it was very difficult for me to breathe, but I had to make a switch in my head and think positive."

With her hands still bound behind her back, Wilson staggered barefoot and bleeding heavily from multiple stab wounds for more than 1,200 meters until reaching a parking lot where a family alerted the authorities. She was hospitalized in the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in a critical condition. Due to Wilson stabbing one of the attackers with a small penknife, the DNA on her knife led to the capture of a terror cell. She was declared a heroine by the Israeli Shin Bet and the Israeli press. [12]

Police and border officials organized a large hunt for Luken, combing the forests around Beit Shemesh. After an overnight search, Luken's body was found ensconced in bushes, bound and stabbed to death. Police believed her body had been moved there by the assailants. [3] [4] [5] [7] [13] [14] [15]

Aftermath

The role of the Israeli West Bank barrier in preventing terrorist attacks was analyzed and Haaretz concluded that while the West Bank barrier remained unfinished, terrorists continued to have easy access into Israel through the Beit Shemesh corridor from the West Bank. [16]

Memorial service

A memorial service for Kristine Luken was held at the Christ Church in the Old City in Jerusalem, with around 100 people attending. Her family said that "she went boldly where she believe God wanted her to go" and was not deterred by the "questioning and ridicule from others." CMJ director, Robin Aldridge, praised her dedication and said she "radiated goodness that came from the inner core of her being." A memorial service was later held in Nottingham, England. Luken's body was flown back to the United States for burial. [17]

Arrests

A month after the attack, Israeli police arrested members of the Palestinian terror cell responsible for the murder of Luken and the attempted murder of Wilson. The police relied upon Wilson's testimony, and DNA samples were produced from the blood stains of Ayad Fasafa, who had been lightly stabbed by Wilson in the attack. Ayad Fasafa and Kifah Ghanimat were linked to the scene and confessed to the crime. Police discovered that Kifah Ghanimat was the leader of a Palestinian terror cell of four members, all residents of the Hebron region, that included Ayad Fasafa and Ibrahim Ghanimat.

In addition to admitting to Luken's murder, members of the terror cell confessed to the murder of Neta Sorek from earlier that year and said that they had perpetrated additional stabbing and shooting attacks. The men declared their goal of murdering Jews. The Palestinian cell were indicted for two murders, two attempted murders, a rape and a series of other violent crimes. [4] [5] [18] [19] [20]

Trial

The Jerusalem District Court convicted Kifah Ghanimat of the murder of Luken and sentenced him to two life sentences and 60 years behind bars. He was convicted under a plea bargain, under which he admitted to the murder of Luken and another attempted murder charge was dropped and two clauses amended. He was also convicted of unlawful entry into Israel, stealing weapons, weapons trading and four counts of attempted murder. Kifah Ghanimat was also convicted of one count of aggravated rape from July 2009. After tying the victim's hands, Kifah had raped her at knifepoint in a cave near the Beit Jamal monastery.[ citation needed ]

The judges said that Kifah Ghanimat: "...was just evil for the sake of being evil, cruel and apathetic to his fellowman, as he stabbed two helpless women to death and slaughtered others with a large knife, and doing such things for months. The cries of the victims echo not only in our imagination but are also heard in the family members' immense suffering." Ayad Fatafta was convicted of a number of offenses including the murder of Luken and the attempted murder of Wilson. [21]

For the murder of Neta Sorek, Kifah's brother, Ibrahim Ghanimat, received a life sentence and 16 additional years in prison and was also convicted on further charges including car theft and unlawful entry into Israel. [4] [18] [22]

Responses

Kay Wilson is now an international writer and speaker. She speaks for the Israeli advocacy agency Stand With Us and for One Family Together, an Israeli NGO that helps Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism. [23] She has since grown attached to Orthodox Judaism, saying "It was interesting how I evolved religiously after the attack. I had always seen myself as an Israeli more than a Jew. After the attack, I became convinced I was attacked because I was a Jew, and consequently I began to identify more with Judaism". She has since began to practice the Jewish customs of lighting Shabbat candles and keeping kosher. [24]

Kay Wilson helped found and grow the organization Yellow Brick Road [ inappropriate external link? ], whose purpose is "to promote the concepts of personal, social and environmental responsibility" in an after-school program in Palestinian refugee camps.

In an interview in 2020, Wilson explained, "By me owning, directing and limiting my rage towards only the guilty and not blaming everyone, I have become friends with many Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians. Ironically, it was people from these communities who reached out to me, thanking me for not blaming them and even asking what they can do to help." [25]

U.S. criminal complaint

In April 2017, U.S. prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Fatafta and Ghanimat at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charging them with murdering a U.S. national outside the United States. [26] [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

Jewish extremist terrorism is terrorism, including religious terrorism, committed by extremists within Judaism.

The murder of Shalhevet Pass was a shooting attack carried out in Hebron, West Bank, on 26 March 2001, in which a Palestinian sniper killed 10-month-old Israeli infant Shalhevet Pass. The event shocked the Israeli public, partly because an investigation ruled that the sniper had deliberately aimed for the baby. According to Deborah Sontag of the New York Times, the murder became a "potent Israeli symbol as an innocent victim of the raging violence."

Karmei Tzur, or Carmei Tzur is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the West Bank located north of Hebron in the Judean hills between the Palestinian towns of Beit Ummar and Halhul. The National Religious community falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council. Under the terms of the Oslo Accords of 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, Karmei Tzur was designated Area "C" under full Israeli civil and security control. In 2022 it had a population of 980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Ofir Rahum</span> Killing of Israeli teen by Palestinian gunmen

The Murder of Ofir Rahum was a shooting attack which occurred on 17 January 2001, in which Palestinian militants from the Tanzim faction of Fatah killed 16-year-old Israeli high school student Ofir Rahum on the outskirts of Ramallah.

Events in the year 2010 in Israel.

This is a list of incidents Israelis and Palestinians in 2011 as part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beit Jimal</span> Place in Jerusalem, Israel

Beit Jimal, Beit el Jemâl, meaning "The house of the camel" is a Catholic monastery run by Salesian priests and brothers near Beit Shemesh, Israel. The Christian tradition identifies the site with the Roman- and Byzantine-era Jewish village of Caphargamala, and believe that a cave there is the tomb of St. Stephen or to have conserved his relics. An alternative spelling and etymology for the name is therefore Beit Gemal or Beit Gamal - the House of Rabban Gamaliel the Elder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Itamar attack</span> Palestinian attack on an Israeli family in the West Bank

The Itamar attack, also called the Itamar massacre, was a terrorist attack on an Israeli family in the Israeli settlement of Itamar in the West Bank that took place on 11 March 2011, in which five members of the same family were murdered in their beds. The victims were the father Ehud (Udi) Fogel, the mother Ruth Fogel, and three of their six children—Yoav, 11, Elad, 4, and Hadas, the youngest, a three-month-old infant. The infant was decapitated. The settlement of Itamar had been the target of several murderous attacks before these killings.

The murder of Asher and Yonatan Palmer occurred on 23 September 2011, when a Palestinian stone throwing attack caused Asher, aged 24, to lose control of a vehicle he was driving near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba in the West Bank, killing him and his infant son. Initially thought to be an accident, it was later deemed a terrorist attack by the Israel Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Tel Aviv bus bombing</span> 2012 terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel

The 2012 Tel Aviv bus bombing was a mass-injury terror attack carried out on November 21, 2012, on a crowded passenger bus driving in the center of Tel Aviv's business district. The attack was carried out by an Israeli citizen of Arab descent, who remotely detonated an explosive device, which he had hid on the bus in advance. Twenty-eight civilians were injured in the attack, among them three who were injured seriously. The attack was carried out on the 8th and last day of Operation Pillar of Defense, only a few hours before the ceasefire was reached.

Shelly Dadon was a 20-year-old Israeli woman from the town of Afula who was murdered on 1 May 2014. Her body was found the following day by the police.

The kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir occurred early on the morning of 2 July 2014. Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian, was forced into a car by Israeli citizens on an East Jerusalem street. His family immediately reported the fact to Israeli Police who located his charred body a few hours later at Givat Shaul in the Jerusalem Forest. Preliminary results from the autopsy suggested that he was beaten and burnt while still alive. The perpetrators subsequently claimed that the attack was a response to the abduction and murder of three Israeli teens on 12 June. The murders contributed to a breakout of hostilities in the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.

List of violent events related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict occurring in the second half of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerusalem gay pride parade</span> Annual LGBT event in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem gay pride parade is an annual pride parade taking place in Jerusalem. Since the first March for Pride and Tolerance in 2002, Jerusalem Pride—"Love Without Border"—has become an established event in Jerusalem.

This is a Timeline of events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during 2016.

On 14 July 2017, three Arab-Israeli men left the Temple Mount, and opened fire on Israeli border police officers stationed near the Gate of the Tribes which is close to the Lions' Gate. Two Israeli border police officers were killed and two more were injured in the attack. All three attackers were shot and killed by Israeli police after fleeing back into the complex.

The Halamish attack, or the Halamish massacre was a terrorist attack on a Jewish family in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Halamish, that took place on 21 July 2017, in which three Israelis were stabbed to death and one severely wounded. The victims of the attack were Yosef Salomon, his daughter Chaya and son Elad, the three who were murdered in the attack, and Tova Salomon, Yosef's wife, who was injured but survived.

On 7 August 2019, 18-year-old yeshiva student Dvir Sorek was stabbed to death near the Israeli settlement of Migdal Oz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pisgat Ze'ev stabbings</span> 2015 stabbing attack in Israel

On October 12, 2015, two Palestinian boys, 15-year-old Hassan Khalid Manasra and his cousin 13-year-old Ahmad Manasra, both from Beit Hanina, stabbed two Israeli civilians in Pisgat Ze'ev, an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem. The victims were 20-year-old Yosef Ben-Shalom, a security guard, and Naor Shalev Ben-Ezra, a 13-year-old boy. Hassan was shot dead by a police officer while Ahmad was struck by a car. The attack attracted significant attention among both Israelis and Palestinians because of the young age of the attackers.

References

  1. Mickolus, Edward (2014-03-28). Terrorism, 2008–2012: A Worldwide Chronology. McFarland. ISBN   9781476614670.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jpost
  3. 1 2 3 Efraim, Omri (26 January 2011). "Murder survivor: I still have flashbacks". Ynetnews. Ynet. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Paraszczuk, Joanna (24 November 2011). "Palestinians get 3 life sentences for 2 murders". Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Lidman, Melanie (18 September 2011). "Trial begins for killers of hiker Kristine Luken". Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  6. "Kristine Anne Luken (1966-2010) - Find a Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  7. 1 2 "Body of American hiker Kristine Luken to be flown to US". BBC News . 11 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  8. "Palestinian convicted in murders of American and Israeli women near Jerusalem". Haaretz . 26 September 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  9. Mandel, Roi (20 December 2010). "Stabbing victim 'found God' in Israel". Ynetnews. Ynet. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  10. "Slain U.S. tourist 'loved Israel'". NBC News. 19 December 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  11. Lidman, Melanie (23 December 2010). "Memorial service for slain American to be held in J'lem". The Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  12. "השב"כ: חברתה של התיירת שנרצחה פעלה כגיבורה" (in Hebrew). walla.co.il. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  13. Glickman, Aviad (19 December 2010). "Tourist's body found near Jerusalem". Ynetnews. Ynet. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  14. "Body of US woman found bound and stabbed in Israel". BBC News . 20 December 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  15. Glickman, Aviad (18 September 2011). "Tour guide testifies in murder of Kristine Luken". Ynetnews. Ynet. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  16. Amos, Harel (26 January 2011). "With the West Bank barrier unfinished, the path for terrorists is wide open". Haaretz . Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  17. Lidman, Melanie (24 December 2010). "100 gather at J'lem memorial service for Kristine Luken". Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  18. 1 2 Glickman, Aviad (24 November 2011). "Kristine Luken's killer gets 2 life sentences". Ynetnews. Ynet. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  19. Efraim, Omri (26 January 2011). "Police: Palestinian cell murdered US tourist". Ynetnews. Ynet. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  20. Glickman, Aviad (25 September 2011). "Palestinian man convicted of murders in J'lem mountains". Ynetnews. Ynet. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  21. 1 2 "Two Terrorists Charged in Connection With the 2010 Murder of a U.S. National in Israel". www.justice.gov. U.S. Justice Department. 13 April 2017.
  22. "Third Murderer of Kristine Luken Convicted". Arutz Sheva. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  23. Wilson, Kay (July 2014). "The terror within a survivor's tale". The Tower Magazine . No. 16. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  24. Halberstam Mandelbaum, Yitta (September 23, 2020). "The Things You Can't Forgive: Kay Wilson shares the terrifying story that upended her life". Ami Living (486). Ami Magazine: 37.
  25. Maital, Shlomo (16 February 2020). "Kay Wilson, from improbable terror survivor to resilient activist". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  26. "Men convicted of killing US tourist in Israel charged in US". Daily News . New York. Associated Press. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.