The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) has revealed details of its investigation into the murder of a Christian tourist, an investigation that led to the capture of a terrorist cell that was discovered to have carried out a second murder as well as other violent assaults. The investigation was made public Wednesday.
Investigators were able to nab the Palestinian Authority terrorists thanks to Kaye Wilson, who survived the vicious stabbing attack that killed her friend, tourist Christine Logan. Wilson was badly wounded in the stabbing, but managed to hike 400 meters through the forest while bleeding, barefoot, and with her hands tied and her face covered, until she encountered a family that called for help.
Wilson's insistence that the men who attacked her and Logan had intended to murder, not rob, led to the Shin Bet joining the investigation. She had attempted to fight back during the assault, injuring one attacker and providing critical DNA evidence.
The first killer located was Kifach Raneimat, 34, of the PA village of Kfar Tzurif in the Etzion bloc. Next, investigators tracked down Iyad Fatafateh, 33, of Tarkomiyeh, north of Hevron.
Neither man was known to belong to a terrorist group, but both had a criminal background.
The two admitted to the stabbing during questioning, and even reenacted the crime. They also admitted to another crime: the murder of Israeli citizen Neta Sorek-Blatt, a schoolteacher who was murdered last year near Beit Shemesh. They implicated a third PA man, Ibrahim Raneimat, in Blatt's murder.
Ibrahim Raneimat was arrested, and admitted to his part in the crime as well. His confession, and those of Kifach Raneimat and of Fatafateh, led to the arrest of five other PA men, who are suspected of various crimes.
Kifach Raneimat admitted to a third crime as well: the brutal stabbing of two teenagers near Beit Shemesh in early 2010. The two victims, a boy and girl, were badly wounded but survived.
Illegal Entry, Crime, Terrorism
The killers crossed the 1949 armistice line into pre-67 Israel many times, investigators found. They are suspected of several crimes against Israelis, including rape, attempted rape, theft, and home invasion.
A Shin Bet investigator said the affair “shows the fluidity of the connection between illegal entry, crime, and terrorism.” The suspects “appeared to be cool and collected violent criminals, who did not hesitate to commit murder and expressed no regret.”