Neria Leiter, the son of Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, was severely wounded in a car-ramming attack at a checkpoint in the West Bank, according to Defence Minister Israel Katz.
Leiter, who is serving as a reservist in the Israel Defense Forces, was injured at the Maccabim checkpoint, west of Ramallah. The checkpoint falls within the Binyamin Brigade’s area of responsibility.
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers killed the assailant and sent additional forces to the area. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the suspect as Mahmoud Suleiman.
Details of Leiter’s injuries have not been made public, and his current condition and prognosis are unknown. It is also unclear whether the checkpoint was selected deliberately or whether any group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Yechiel Leiter thanked the IDF and the medical team at Shaare Zedek in a social media post. The ambassador wrote that he believes ‘Neria needs a miracle’.
The attack comes after a previous loss for the Leiter family. Neria Leiter continued his reserve service after his brother, Moshe, was killed in Gaza in 2023.
Ramming attacks by Palestinians against Israeli civilians and military personnel continue to pose a security challenge in the West Bank. The incident at Maccabim involved the son of a senior Israeli diplomat, while the available accounts leave several aspects of the attack unresolved.
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