Ambassador’s Son Critically Hurt in West Bank Ramming

Neria Leiter, an Israeli Defense Forces reservist and son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, was critically injured Wednesday afternoon in a vehicle ramming at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, Israeli authorities and emergency services reported.

The incident occurred near the Maccabim (also referred to as Bell/Maccabim) checkpoint on Route 443, in the area of the Beit Horon settlement between Modi’in and Jerusalem. Leiter, described as being in his 30s and serving alongside police forces at the site, was struck when a car accelerated toward a Judea and Samaria District police patrol vehicle. Security personnel at the scene opened fire and killed the driver.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the driver as 29-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, a resident of the nearby village of Beit Ur al-Tahta west of Ramallah. Israeli police and investigators treated the event as an intentional attack.

Emergency responders from Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah treated Leiter at the scene for a serious head injury. He was evacuated unconscious and in serious, unstable condition to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where he underwent lifesaving treatment in the trauma room. Medical officials said he remained sedated and on a ventilator in critical condition later Wednesday.

Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, who assumed his post in Washington in January 2025, issued a public appeal for prayers. “Neria needs a miracle,” he wrote, referring to his son as Neria Dov ben Chana in the traditional form used for recovery prayers. “I am grateful to the IDF, to the medical team at Shaare Zedek who are now fighting to save the life of Neria Dov ben Chana, and for the prayers of the people of Israel. I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen.” The ambassador, who was in New York at the time of the attack, began returning to Israel.

The family has asked the public to recite Psalms for Neria’s recovery. Defense Minister Israel Katz also expressed support, saying he prayed for the reservist’s speedy recovery and praised the forces who neutralized the attacker.

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The attack marks a second major loss for the Leiter family in the ongoing conflict. Neria’s older brother, Maj. Moshe Yedidya Leiter, 39, a father of six and IDF officer, was killed in November 2023 while fighting in northern Gaza in the early weeks of the war against Hamas. According to the ambassador, Neria continued extensive reserve service across multiple fronts after his brother’s death, accumulating hundreds of days in uniform since October 7, 2023. The family has roots in the West Bank community of Eli.

The ramming took place one day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. It occurred against a backdrop of continued violence in the West Bank, where Israeli forces and Palestinian attackers have clashed repeatedly since the outbreak of the broader war. Israeli authorities opened an investigation into the incident.

Details remain developing as medical teams work to stabilize Leiter and investigators examine the circumstances of the attack.