- By Lucy Williamson and Marita Moloney
- In the West Bank and London
April 9, 2023 at 14:37 CET
Updated 14 minutes ago
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The funeral of the two sisters will take place in the Israeli settlement of Kfar Etzion in the West Bank
The father of two British-Israeli sisters killed in a shootout in the occupied West Bank hugged their bodies as mourners sang dirges at her funeral on Sunday.
Maia and Rina Dee, 20 and 15, were killed on Friday when their car was attacked in the Jordan Valley.
Her burial took place in a cemetery in the settlement of Kfar Etzion.
Her mother, Leah, is in critical condition following surgery to remove bullets from her neck and spine.
The deep, rhythmic chants swelled and surged with the crowd huddled beneath the white beams in the cemetery’s prayer hall.
Many at the funeral are teenagers – some from the school Rina attended. At the front, at a low dais, the family would gather, talk to each other and hold each other in silence for long moments.
The bodies were brought out, one wrapped in black cloth, one in blue – each had a Star of David embroidered in gold and silver.
They were hugged by their father, Rabbi Leo Dee, originally from London. Then he sat back, his face twisted in pain, his hands reaching out to touch his remaining three children.
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Maia and Rina Dee were shot dead as they drove to Tiberias from their home in the settlement of Efrat
The family lives in the West Bank settlement of Efrat and moved from London nine years ago.
The car carrying the two sisters and their mother left the road after being shot at. The extended family traveled to Tiberias for vacation in three cars.
Israeli military blocked roads in the area and said they had “launched a pursuit of the terrorists responsible”. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that 22 shell casings were found, apparently from a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
Speaking to the BBC on Saturday night, Rabbi Dee described his daughters as beautiful, smart and popular. He said he hasn’t been able to sleep since her death.
“Every time I would have nightmares and wake up,” he said, “but the reality was worse than the nightmare, so I went back to sleep. Recurring nightmares… that’s how it went.”
He said Maia, who volunteered for national service at a high school, was “wonderful, beautiful, had a lot of friends…she was very interested in doing a second year as a volunteer.”
Rina, he said, was “beautiful, funny, very smart, top marks in all subjects, very popular with friends, athletic… very responsible, she would take responsibility for many things”.
“When it came to sweeping the youth club floor, she was there alone for three hours on a Friday morning when other people didn’t show up to make sure it was done,” he said.
Rabbi Dee heard news of the attack without knowing that his own family was implicated, he said.
He called his wife and daughters, but they didn’t answer. Then he saw a picture of the attacked car on the Internet.
“And we could just see one of our suitcases in the back seat,” he said. “There was massive panic and screams.”
He then drove to the crime scene. He was denied entry but was given his daughter’s ID card, which confirmed the worst.
Rabbi Dee has said he and his three remaining children “will get through this.”
Image source, Getty Images
Rabbi Mordechai Ginsbury, of Hendon United Synagogue in north London, said he spoke briefly with close friend Rabbi Dee before the funerals.
“Of course, like all of us, [he was] devastated, shocked at how things can change in a matter of moments with an act of absolute evil and madness – madness,” he told the BBC.
“The loss of two gorgeous daughters and his wife who is now seriously ill in a Jerusalem hospital.
“But despite the sadness, there’s still this determination that he needs to find everything positive to try and be strong for his remaining kids.”
Rabbi Ginsbury added that Rabbi Dee felt “supported and embraced by a blanket of warmth and love” from Israel and from people around the world who had contacted him.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who described the incident as a terrorist attack, expressed his condolences to the family in a tweet on Saturday, including the sisters.
UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said that “no words can describe the depth of our shock and sadness at the heartbreaking news”.
After the two sisters were shot, Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai ordered all Israelis with gun licenses to carry their guns.