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Neria Leiter was serving alongside a policewoman at a checkpoint near Beit Horon, west of Ramallah, when a Palestinian man drove a car towards them at high speed.
News18
Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said his son was seriously wounded in a car-ramming attack in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.
Neria Leiter, an Israeli army reservist, was serving alongside a policewoman at a checkpoint near Beit Horon, west of Ramallah, when a Palestinian man drove a car towards them at high speed, according to Israeli authorities. The driver was shot dead by Israeli forces.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said a man was evacuated to hospital in serious condition. Israeli authorities later identified the wounded soldier as Neria Leiter, who was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem.
Ambassador rushes back to Israel
Leiter had been due to attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations in New York but travelled back to Israel after learning of his son’s condition.
In a post on X, he thanked Israeli soldiers, medical staff and people praying for his son’s recovery.
“I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen. Neria needs a miracle.”
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. Neria…
— Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter (@yechielleiter) September 23, 2026
Leiter also said Neria had continued serving in the reserves after the death of his older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who was killed in fighting in Gaza in November 2023.
He said Neria had since served hundreds of days in the reserves on multiple fronts.
“Palestinian terrorism seeks to uproot the people of Israel from their land. They choose death – we choose life,” the envoy added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, said they were praying for Neria’s recovery. Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister visited him in hospital before leaving for the United States.
Palestinian driver killed
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the driver as 29-year-old Mahmoud Mohammad Mahmoud Suleiman. It said he was shot by Israeli forces near Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of Ramallah, and that Israeli authorities were withholding his body.
Hazem Suleiman, mayor of Beit Ur al-Tahta, told AFP that Israeli forces later searched the man’s family home and closed off the village.
The attack comes amid heightened violence in the West Bank since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war.
According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Health Ministry data, Israeli forces or settlers have killed 1,110 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war. Israeli figures show at least 49 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations over the same period.
(With inputs from AFP)
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Ask News18Yechiel Leiter’s son, Neria Leiter, was seriously wounded in a car-ramming attack carried out by a Palestinian driver near Beit Horon in the occupied West Bank. The driver was shot dead by Israeli forces, and Neria was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem in serious condition.
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