Teenage terror victim laid to rest: 'She had her whole life ahead of her'
Uncle of slain teen Rina Shnerb says her father tried to help her and her brother after they were hit by an IED, even removing his tzitzit to fashion a tourniquet for his badly wounded son
Seventeen-year-old Rina Shnerb was laid to rest in her hometown of Lod on Friday afternoon, hours after she was killed in a terror attack in the West Bank that also wounded her father and brother.
Rina was killed, her 19-year-old brother Dvir was seriously wounded and her father Eitan was lightly hurt when they were hit by an improvised explosive device Friday morning as they were visiting the Danny Spring - named for another Israeli terror victim - near the West Bank settlement of Dolev.
Rina's sister, Tamar Levanoni, paid tribute to her sister, whom she said had left a void in the heart of the nation.
"My dearest Rina. We were granted you for almost 17 years. We were granted the best of you, your sensitivity, to see how you constantly strove to advance, to learn and understand," Levanoni said.
"We were allowed to learn from you how to always seek the big answers and not to make do with the small ones," she said.
"This hole is not just felt by the family; it is a void in the heart of the nation. This space now needs to be filled; the work begins now. Dearest, beloved Rina, thank you for the years we had with you, I hope that together we can fulfill the mission you left for us."
Speaking earlier outside Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem, where Dvir and 46-year-old Rabbi Eitan Shnerb were being treated, family member Shmulik Shenhav paid tribute to his slain niece.
Rina was "an innocent, God-fearing girl," he said. "She was so sweet, with her whole life ahead of her."
The family was hit by the bomb as they walked on foot from their vehicle towards the spring.
It was initially unclear to the security forces whether a terrorist had thrown the bomb at the family or their route was booby-trapped, but later decide that that second option was most likely.
This type of attack is extremely unusual and has raised concerns among local residents that more devices have been placed at other hiking spots in Judea and Samaria.
After the bomb was detonated at around 10am Friday, the rabbi managed to call the police and report the attack. A report was sent simultaneously to the Magen David Adom rescue service.
Military, police and MDA personnel rushed to the site of the attack, where paramedics battled to save Rina's life, but were ultimately had no choice but to pronounce her dead at the scene.
Shenhav said that the rabbi tried to help his children in the aftermath of the attack.
"Eitan, who is also a paramedic, tried to help Rina but it was too late," Shenhav said from outside the hospital where the two survivors were being treated.
"He took off his tzitzit (Jewish garment worn under the clothes by Orthodox men) and made a tourniquet for Dvir to stop the shrapnel that punctured his hand."
He said that the family had called the local hotline to say that they were heading for the spring and were told that the site was secure.
Shenhav said that he did not know how the attack had happened and speculated that someone had tipped off the terrorists that the family was there.
The uncle also said that Dvir tried to support his father despite his own serious wounds.
"Dad, we are strong, do you need anything?" Dvir told his rabbi father. Shenhav said that throughout the ordeal, Dvir repeatedly told his father: "We are strong and we will come out of this and strengthen the people of Israel."
Shenhav added: "These are people that the nation of Israel can take pride in, each and every one of them. People who love Israel according to the teachings of the Torah of Israel in the Land of Israel.
"Eitan asked me to come out and say - we are not zealots, we only strengthen and give; give love to the people, love of Torah, love of honor and the values of the Land of Israel so as to deepen our hold on it."
Yoav Zitun and Elisha Ben Kimon contributed to this report
