Israeli envoy to US Yechiel Leiter’s son critically injured in West Bank ramming attack

The son of Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter was critically injured in a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. The attack took place a day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address the United Nations.

Neria Leiter, a reserve soldier stationed at a checkpoint near the settlement of Beit Horon, was taken to a hospital in Jerusalem after the attack, according to emergency response services.

Yechiel Leiter said his son needed a miracle after the attack. "Neria needs a miracle. Neria continued to serve in the reserves after losing his older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter," Leiter said on X, referring to his other son who was killed in action in Gaza in November 2023.

Netanyahu also responded to the incident on X.

"My wife Sara and I, together with all the people of Israel, are praying for a miracle," Netanyahu said.

Driver shot dead at scene

The driver of the car was identified as 29-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, a Palestinian from the nearby village of Beit Ur al-Tahta. He was shot and killed at the scene, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Also Read: Harvey Weinstein gets 15-year prison sentence over Miriam Haley assault

Neria's elder brother, 39-year-old Moshe Yedidya Leiter, was killed while fighting in Gaza in November 2023. He was killed in the first weeks of the war that began after the Hamas-led attack on Israel the previous month.

The ramming attack came just days after a shooting in the West Bank on the eve of the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur.