Son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States seriously injured in terror attack
Neria Leiter, an IDF reservist, had to have brain surgery after a Palestinian man rammed his car into a security checkpoint in the West Bank
Israel’s ambassador to the United States has described his son as “needing a miracle”, after being severely injured in a terror attack on Wednesday in the West Bank.
Neria Leiter, an IDF reservist, was seriously hurt when a Palestinian man rammed his car into a checkpoint, with the terrorist, later identified as Mahmoud Suleiman, subsequently shot dead as he attempted to escape. Leiter was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek medical centre, with the hospital confirming on Wednesday night that he had undergone brain surgery, and that while his condition was stable, his life was still in danger.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said: “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 7 October, 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.”
Moshe Leiter, Neria’s older brother, was killed in Gaza in 2023 as IDF ground troops attempted to remove Hamas from power in the wake of the 7 October mass terror attacks against Israel.
Ambassador Leiter returned to Israel after being informed of the attack. At a subsequent press conference, he said that Neria had “led the family” after his older brother was killed – and that Neria’s pregnant sister had her waters break while visiting his bedside, and was now in labour in the same hospital.
This is the second serious Palestinian terror attack in the West Bank in the last few days – on Sunday, Netanel Shukrun, a French-Israeli father of six, was shot dead outside a mikveh (ritual bath), which he was using prior to Yom Kippur.