Police have imposed a gag order on the stabbing of two Christian women near the city of Beit Shemesh on Saturday, but said Thursday they believe the stabbing was a terrorist attack. Earlier police had said the incident may have been criminally motivated.
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the fatal attack.
The victims, both Christian missionaries, had been hiking in the Jerusalem Forest when they were attacked by two Arab men bearing knives. American Kristine Luken was killed, and an Israeli immigrant from Britain, Kay Wilson, was badly hurt.
Wilson told police that she survived the brutal attack Saturday by pretending to be dead. She was stabbed multiple times with a large serrated knife.
At one point, she said, one of the Arab attackers ripped off a Star of David necklace she was wearing and then stabbed her in the chest where the star – which traditionally symbolizes Jewish identity – had lain.
After the attackers left she was unable to call for help, as her severe injuries left her struggling for breath. However, she managed to stand and walk toward a nearby town, and found two families near the road who called for help.
A memorial will be held for Luken on Thursday in a church in the Old City of Jerusalem. Luken, who will be buried in the United States, worked as the head of the British branch of Church Ministry among Jewish people (CMJ).