Palestinian terror leader convicted of hiker’s murder

JERUSALEM (JTA) – A Jerusalem court has convicted the leader of a Palestinian terrorist cell for the murder of an American hiker near Jerusalem.

In addition to being convicted of killing Kristine Lunken in December 2010, Kafah Ghanimat was convicted Sunday of killing Neta Sorek, also in the mountains outside of Jerusalem, earlier in 2010.

Luken and her hiking partner Susan Kaye Wilson were attacked Dec. 18, 2010 while hiking at Khirbet Hanut, an archaeological site near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Wilson pretended to be dead and survived the attack and provided descriptions of the attackers. They confessed to the attack.

A second member of the cell was also convicted Sunday in Lunken’s murder.

During a hearing last week, Wilson testified about what happened to the court.