Ambassador’s Son Critically Injured in West Bank Attack

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said his son Neria was fighting for his life after a Palestinian attacker rammed a car into him at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. Neria, a 39-year-old reservist who was searching vehicles near an Israeli settlement, underwent several hours of complex brain surgery at Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem. Doctors stabilised him, Leiter said, but his life remained in danger. The ambassador had planned to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations, but instead went to the hospital. Leiter also criticised French President Emmanuel Macron over remarks Macron made at the UN General Assembly on Sept 22, in which he voiced alarm about Israeli actions in the West Bank. Leiter accused Macron of speaking “out of ignorance or malice or wickedness” and disputed his claim about Hamas violence against Jews in the territory. Referring to the recent killing of Netanel Shukrun, a settler who held French citizenship, and the attack on his son, Leiter said the attacks were intended to force Israelis from the area. The article places Leiter’s comments amid ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence. It notes that Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law and that extremist settlers have recently increased attacks and theft against Palestinians. The United Nations reported about six settler-related violent incidents against Palestinians or their property each day through mid-2026. Leiter, who was born in the United States and moved to a West Bank settlement, also has another son who died in combat in Gaza in November 2023. The report notes his previous criticism of France, including over its plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

Neria Leiter, an Israeli army reservist and son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, was critically injured in a vehicle-ramming attack at the Maccabim checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. Israeli police and military said a vehicle accelerated towards a joint police-military patrol where Leiter was serving and struck him. Security forces at the scene opened fire, killing the driver, whom Israeli security officials identified as 29-year-old Mahmoud Mohammad Sliman from the nearby village of Beit Ur Al Tahta. Leiter was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem in serious condition. The hospital said he underwent several hours of emergency brain surgery and that his life remained in danger. The Israeli military said it sent additional forces into the West Bank after the attack, including the headquarters of its 98th Division, which was assigned command of forces in the area. Yechiel Leiter was in the United States when he learned of the attack and returned to Israel to be with his son. In a statement posted on X, he said, “Neria needs a miracle,” and thanked the military, medical staff and people praying for his recovery. The article also notes that Neria’s older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, was killed in Gaza in November 2023. Their father said Neria had since served hundreds of days in the Israeli reserves on multiple fronts. The report presents statements from Israeli authorities, the hospital and the ambassador, focusing on the attack, the response and the family’s situation.

Neria Leiter, a reservist in the Israeli military and the son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, was seriously injured in a vehicle-ramming attack at a security checkpoint near the West Bank settlement of Beit Horon on Wednesday. His father said on social media that Neria “needs a miracle” and thanked the Israel Defense Forces, medical staff at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, and people praying for his recovery. He described his son as having continued reserve service after the death of his older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who was killed while serving in Gaza about a month after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. According to Israeli military and law-enforcement officials, a Palestinian man drove into the checkpoint, seriously injuring the soldier. Israeli forces shot and killed the driver as he tried to flee. The Palestinian health ministry identified him as Mahmoud Suleiman. Additional Israeli forces were sent to the area, which lies along a major highway connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog expressed wishes for Leiter’s recovery. Herzog said Leiter was fighting for his life. Netanyahu visited the family at the hospital before departing for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the Iran war was a major focus. The attack took place during the Jewish High Holy Days, shortly after Yom Kippur. The article also notes Yechiel Leiter’s recent diplomatic work: he participated in direct Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington in April, and in June joined Lebanon’s US ambassador and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in announcing a framework agreement. The participants described the agreement as a first step toward peace after renewed fighting involving Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group based in Lebanon.