Maia and Rina Dee: Funerals of sisters killed in occupied West Bank to take place

The funeral of two British-Israeli sisters killed in a shooting in the occupied West Bank is due to take place on Sunday.

Maia and Rina Dee, aged 20 and 15, were killed on Friday after their car was attacked in the north of the Jordan Valley.

Rabbi Leo Dee, their father, described them as "wonderful".

Their mother, Leah, remains in a critical condition after surgery to remove bullets from her neck and spine.

The family live in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, its mayor has said, and moved from London nine years ago.

The car carrying the two sisters and their mother was driven off the road after being shot. The wider family were travelling in three cars for a holiday in Tiberias.

Speaking to the BBC, Rabbi Dee described his daughters as beautiful, smart and popular. He said he had not been able to sleep since their deaths.

"Every time, I had nightmares and woke 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 was volunteering for national service in a high school, was "wonderful, beautiful, had a lot of friends... she was very keen to do a second year of volunteering".

Rina, he said, was "beautiful, fun, very smart, top grades in every subject, very popular with friends, sporty... very responsible, she would take responsibility for many things".

"When it came to sweeping out the youth club floor, if other people didn't turn up, she would be there by herself for three hours on a Friday morning, to make sure it was done," he said.

Rabbi Dee heard news of the attack without realising his own family were involved, he said.

He called his wife and daughters, but they did not answer. He then saw a picture online of the car that was attacked.

"And we could just see one of our suitcases in the back seat," he said. "There was a massive panic and screaming."

He then drove to the scene. He was not allowed access but was handed his daughter's ID card, which confirmed the worst.

Rabbi Dee has said he and his three remaining children "will get through this".

Rabbi Mordechai Ginsbury, from the Hendon United Synagogue in north London, said he spoke briefly with his close friend Rabbi Dee before the funerals.

"Naturally, as are we all, [he was] devastated, shocked at how just in a few moments with an act of absolute evil and madness - insanity - things can change around," he told the BBC.

"The loss of two gorgeous daughters, and his wife now lying critically ill in a hospital in Jerusalem.

"But through the sadness there's still that determination that he has to find any positives one can find, to try and be strong for his remaining children."

Rabbi Ginsbury added that Rabbi Dee felt "supported and embraced by a blanket of warmth and love" from within Israel and from people across world who had contacted him.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who described the incident as a terror attack, sent his condolences to the family in a tweet naming the sisters on Saturday.

The UK's chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, said that "no words can describe the depth of our shock and sadness at the heart-breaking news".

After the two sisters were shot, Israel Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai called on all Israelis with firearms licences to start carrying their weapons.