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Father of West Bank victims asks how he will tell unconscious wife about attack

Rabbi Leo Dee spoke at the funeral of his daughters, Rina, 15, and Maia, 20, held in a cemetery in Kfar Etzion in the West Bank.

Luke O'Reilly
Sunday 09 April 2023 16:07 EDT
Maia (left) and Rina Dee, the two British-Israeli sisters who were killed in a gun attack in the occupied West Bank.
Maia (left) and Rina Dee, the two British-Israeli sisters who were killed in a gun attack in the occupied West Bank. (PA Media)

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The father of two British-Israeli sisters killed in the West Bank has asked how he will tell their mother what has happened to them when she regains consciousness.

Rabbi Leo Dee spoke at the funeral for his daughters, Rina, 15, and Maia, 20, held in a cemetery in the Jewish settlement of Kfar Etzion in the West Bank.

The sisters were shot dead in an attack on their car near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Friday.

Their mother Lucy, 45, was seriously wounded in the attack and remains in a coma.

In footage from the funeral, broadcast on Sky News, Rabbi Dee asked: “How will I explain to Lucy what has happened to our two precious gifts?”

During an emotional speech, Rabbi Dee said: “Maia and Rina, you have loved us, you have inspired us, and in turn we will love you forever.

“May your souls be bound in the bond of eternal life.

“And may we, and no-one else in the world, ever know so much sorrow.”

Rabbi Dee was in the car behind his wife and daughters, and witnessed the attack.

The attack, by Palestinian assailants, came after Israel launched retaliatory air strikes at Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Tensions have been heightened by days of fighting at Jerusalem’s most holy site during the rare convergence of Ramadan, Passover and Easter.

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