Israeli Zaka volunteers carry the body of Kristine Luken out of the forest in Mata,Israel.

An American missionary visiting Israel was killed in an attack in a forest outside of Jerusalem on Saturday, Dec.18.

Kristine Luken, 44, was stabbed to death while hiking on a trail Saturday outside of Jerusalem. Her friend, Kaye Wilson, was also attacked, but survived by pretending she was dead. Luken had been working in England with The Church’s Ministry, an evangelical ministry that sought to promote Christianity among Jews. Wilson, 46, described the assailants as two Arab men.

As the Ledger went to press, Israeli police still had not ruled out whether the attack was carried out by Palestinian militants.

“There’s a strong possibility that they could have been from Palestinian areas, but everything is under investigation,” said police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld.