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- Lucy Williamson and Marita Moloney
- in the West Bank and London
Maia and Lina Dee were shot while driving from their home in Efrat’s settlement to Tiberias
The father of two Anglo-Israeli sisters killed in shootings in the occupied West Bank cradled their bodies as mourners sang songs of grief at their funeral on Sunday.
Maia Dee and Lina Dee, 20 and 15, were killed in a car attack in the Jordan Valley on Friday.
Their funeral was held in a cemetery in the settlement of Kfar Ezion.
His mother, Leah, is still in critical condition after undergoing surgery to remove bullets from her neck and spine.
A low, rhythmic song swelled and swayed with the crowd packed under the white rafters of the cemetery chapel.
Many of the funerals are teenagers, some from the school Lina attended. Families gathered by the low podium in front, talking and hugging each other for a long time.
The bodies were brought out, one covered with a black cloth and the other with a blue cloth. Each had a Star of David embroidered in gold and silver.
They were held by their father, Rabbi Leo Dee, from London. Then he sat back, grimacing in pain, and reaching for his remaining three children.
The two sisters’ funerals are held at the Israeli settlement of Kfar Etzion in the West Bank.
The family lives in the West Bank area of Ephrat and moved from London nine years ago.
A car carrying two sisters and their mother was forced off the road after being shot. A wider family was traveling in 3 cars for a holiday in Tiberias.
Speaking to the BBC on Saturday night, Rabbi Dee described his daughters as beautiful, smart and popular. He said he couldn’t sleep since their deaths.
“Every time I woke up with a nightmare,” he said.
Maia, who was a volunteer for national service in high school, said she was “great, beautiful, had so many friends…she was so enthusiastic about volunteering for her second year.”
Lina said she was “beautiful, fun, very smart, got top grades in all subjects, very popular with her friends, sporty, very responsible and responsible for many things.” rice field.
“When it came to mopping up the youth club floor, if no one else showed up, she was there alone for three hours on Friday morning to make sure it was done.
Ravi Dee heard the news of the attack without realizing that his own family was involved, he said.
He called his wife and daughters, but they did not answer. He then saw a photo of the attacked car online.
“And I only saw one suitcase in the back seat,” he said. “There was a lot of panic and screams.”
We then drove to the scene. He was not allowed in, but was handed his daughter’s ID card, confirming the worst.
Rabbi Dee says he and his three remaining children will “get through this”.
image source, Getty Images
Rabbi Mordehai Ginsbury of the Hendon United Synagogue in north London spoke briefly with his close friend Rabbi Dee before the funeral.
“Naturally, as we all do, [he was] I am devastated and shocked that an act of utter evil and madness can turn things around in a matter of seconds,” he told the BBC.
“He has lost two gorgeous daughters and his wife is seriously ill and lies in a hospital in Jerusalem.
“But in his grief, he still remains determined to find the positive things he can find to help his remaining children.”
Rabbi Ginsbury added that Rabbi Dee felt “supported and accepted by a blanket of warmth and love” from people in Israel and around the world who came into contact with him.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who described the incident as a terrorist attack, offered his condolences to the bereaved families on Saturday in a tweet naming the sisters.
Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mervis, said: “Words cannot express the depth of our shock and sadness at this heartbreaking news.”
After the two sisters were shot, Israeli Police Chief Kobi Shabtai called on all Israelis with firearms licenses to start carrying weapons.
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