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. 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.”
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The arrests were carried out in December, but the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) slapped a gag order on the capture until Wednesday morning. The terrorists said they killed Logan and stabbed a companion, a British Christian, in revenge for the in Dubai a year ago.
Logan, also known as Lucken, and Kaye Susan Wilson were on a hike in the Beit Shemesh area, southwest of Jerusalem, when the two terrorists, residents of the Hevron area, stabbed them. Wilson saved her life by pretending to be dead while Logan’s screamed spelled her death sentence.
Wilson also inadvertently helped the police find their attackers, one of whom she managed to stab with a small pocketknife she was carrying. The bloodstains at the scene allowed the police to identify the attacker's DNA, leading to his capture.
The IDF said the terrorists were able to enter the scene of the attack through a gap in th separation/security barrier northwest of Hevron.
After the a murder of Logan, police refused to categorically state that it was a terrorist attack, stating they were examining other motives, but they never explained what they might have been.
After their arrest, one of the terrorists also confessed to murdering Neta Blatt, a teacher, near Beit Shemesh last February.
The terrorists also are suspected of two other attempted murders, rape, attempted rape, 14 thefts and break-ins, and the shooting at an IDF vehicle.
