The son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States is fighting for his life after a car-ramming attack at a West Bank checkpoint, his father said Wednesday.
Ambassador Yechiel Leiter identified the wounded reservist as his son Neria Leiter, also named in his prayer request as Neria Dov ben Chana. Doctors at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem are treating him after the ramming.
“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,” Leiter wrote on X.
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 needs a miracle.
Neria continued to serve in the reserves after losing his older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, of blessed memory. Since October 7th, he has 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.
— Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter (@yechielleiter) September 23, 2026
“I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen. Neria needs a miracle,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces said a car-ramming attack took place at a checkpoint in the Binyamin Brigade’s area of responsibility, in the area of the Maccabim checkpoint west of Ramallah.
⭕️Following a report of a car-ramming attack at a checkpoint in the Binyamin Brigade’s area of responsibility, security forces operating at the scene eliminated the terrorist.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 23, 2026
The IDF said the terrorist who carried out the attack was “eliminated” by security forces at the scene. The military said one soldier was “severely injured.”
The Associated Press reported that the Palestinian Health Ministry identified the suspect as Mahmoud Suleiman.
CNN later gave his full name as 29-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, a Palestinian from the nearby village of Beit Ur al-Tahta.
Israeli police said the driver accelerated toward a patrol vehicle and ran over a crew member working the checkpoint. Emergency teams said Neria Leiter was unconscious after he was struck and was taken to Jerusalem for trauma care.
The attack comes nearly three years after terrorists killed the ambassador’s other son. Maj. Moshe Yedidya Leiter was killed in battle in northern Gaza on Nov. 10, 2023, during the war that followed Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
Yechiel Leiter, who was born in the United States and also goes by Michael, said Neria kept serving in the reserves after his brother’s death. He said his son has “done hundreds of reserve duty days on various fronts since Oct. 7,” according to CBS News.
“Palestinian terrorism aims to uproot the people of Israel from its land,” the ambassador said. “They choose death — we choose life.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said he and his wife were praying for Neria. “Yechiel, my dear friend, we are all with you,” Netanyahu wrote.
CNN reported that Hamas praised the ramming as a “natural response” to Israeli actions in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The group called for more attacks and did not claim responsibility.
Leiter has served as Israel’s ambassador in Washington since January 2025.
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