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Grandfather of murdered baby speaks of his pain

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The grandfather of the three-month-old baby killed in last week's terror attack next to a light railway stop in Jerusalem has explained how her family is coping with their grief.

Shimshon Halperin said: "There's remarkable pain, but we are overcoming it by accepting the decree from heaven.

"The baby came to this world for a mission, she fulfilled her mission, and God took her soul back to heaven."

Baby Chaya Zissel Braun - an Israeli-American citizen - was killed when a local Arab man drove a car into a crowd of pedestrians.

Chaya's funeral was held this week and attended by a large crowd.

President Reuven Rivlin was among the eulogisers. "We are standing before a tiny, silent body, before a small grave, standing against haters and murderers whose hands slaughter without distinction, without mercy," he said. "An innocent baby was butchered by burning hatred and darkness."

A 22-year-old Ecuadorian woman, Karen Mosquera, who was injured in the same attack, died of her wounds this week.

Ms Mosquera moved to Israel a few months ago because she was converting to Judaism, and she is believed to have just completed the process.

Hundreds also attended her funeral, including many Charedim, some of who were involved in her conversion and others who just admired her story or felt a responsibility to honour the dead.

Mayor Nir Barkat told her family that they have a bond with the Jewish people that will continue despite their daughter's passing. "These are hard times for all of us, especially for you the family," he said at the funeral. "Look around you and you will see how many people love Karen."

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