Funeral held for British-Israeli woman who died after West Bank attack that killed daughters

The funeral of British-Israeli woman Lucy Dee has been held after she was killed alongside her daughters in an attack in the West Bank.

The 45-year-old died in an Israeli hospital on Monday, after she was injured in the attack on her family’s car on Friday.

Her daughters, Maia and Rina Dee, aged 20 and 15, died at the scene when they were shot at and forced off the road.

The father and husband of the family, Rabbi Leo Dee, was in another vehicle some distance away and survived the attack.

Mrs Dee’s other children, Karen and Tali, were in tears as they spoke at the funeral in Kfar Etzion – a settlement in the West Bank.

In a eulogy, Rabbi Dee said: “Lucy, you were a great companion to everyone, but for me you were my best friend – we were each others.

“We built a new life for ourselves in the promised land. You would frequently say you couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Nor could I – even now, especially now.”

He also said this week his “family of seven is now a family of four” and that he would be “haunted” by missing a call from one of his daughters during the attack.

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The incident happened near Hamra, about 30 miles north of Jerusalem, but the family lived in Efrat – close to Bethlehem.

Leo Dee was senior rabbi at Radlett United Synagogue in Hertfordshire from 2011-2014 and assistant rabbi in Hendon, north London, from 2008-2011.

The family moved back to Israel in 2014.

Italian tourist Alessandro Parini was also killed on the same day as the attack on the Dee family when a car drove in to people in Tel Aviv.

Friday’s attacks followed Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Gaza – launched in response to rocket attacks on Thursday that it blamed on militant group Hamas.

Tensions are also high following police raids last week on Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem as the Muslim and Jewish festivals of Ramadan and Passover coincide.

Violence has surged in the region this year, with more than 90 Palestinians and at least 19 Israelis and foreigners killed.