Maia and Rina Dee named as British-Israeli sisters killed in West Bank shooting

Two British-Israeli sisters killed in a shooting in the occupied West Bank have been named as Maia and Rina Dee.

The sisters were killed on Friday afternoon near the Hamra Junction in the north of the Jordan Valley, as they drove to Tiberias.

They were the children of Rabbi Leo Dee, originally from London, who has described the deaths as a "nightmare".

Their mother, Leah, remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Maia was 20 years old and volunteering for national service in a high school, while younger sister Rina was 15.

Their car was driven off the road after being shot at by gunmen while their father had been driving ahead in a separate vehicle. Rabbi Dee heard news of the attack before realising his own family had been involved.

Speaking to the BBC, he described his daughters as "beautiful and wonderful" and said he hadn't 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. That's how it went."

The family live in the West Bank settlement Efrat, its mayor has said. The sisters' funeral will be held on Sunday.

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.

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".

Writing on Twitter, he said the two sisters were the children of British Rabbi Dee and his wife Lucy, which is understood to be their mother Leah's English name.

"They were much loved in the Hendon and Radlett communities in the UK as well as in Israel, and well beyond," he added.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said they were "deeply shocked and saddened" at their deaths, adding that their father had previously been rabbi at Radlett United Synagogue in Hertfordshire.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Friday he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, following the attacks and that anyone worried about friends or relatives in Israel should contact the Foreign Office.

(BBC News)