The son of the Israeli ambassador to the United States was injured in a run-over in the West Bank

The Israeli authorities reported that the son of the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, was seriously injured as a result of a car-ramming attack that occurred in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, one day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to deliver his speech before the United Nations.

Emergency services reported that Neriah Leiter, a reserve soldier who was stationed at a checkpoint near the Beit Horon settlement, was quickly transferred to a hospital in Jerusalem.

“Neria needs a miracle,” Leiter said in a statement posted on social media. “I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that miracles happen when the people of Israel unite.”

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the driver of the car - Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, a 29-year-old Palestinian from the nearby village of Beit Ur Al-Tahta - was killed by Israeli forces at the site of the attack.

For its part, Hamas praised the attack in a statement, describing it as a "natural response" to Israeli practices in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The armed movement, which is based in the Gaza Strip, called for escalation of resistance against Israel, but did not claim responsibility for the attack.

It is noteworthy that Leiter's eldest son, Moshe Yedidia Leiter (39 years old), was killed during fighting in Gaza in November 2023, during the first weeks of the war that broke out following the Hamas-led attack against Israel the previous month.

The car-ramming attack came a few days after a shooting incident in the West Bank on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

On Sunday, Netanel Shokron, a father of six children from the Ali Zahav settlement, was shot dead while bathing in a natural spring in the West Bank, as part of holiday rituals. Shukron's son (16 years old) narrated how his father saved his life when he shouted and warned him to take shelter.

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it had arrested the suspect in a shooting inside a hospital near the city of Ramallah in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the hard-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, called for the death penalty to be applied in this case under a new law imposing the death penalty on perpetrators of “terrorism” crimes and nationally motivated crimes.

Following the shooting incident, Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said: “The Israeli army is on high alert, deployed and ready with reinforced forces in all sectors, including during the fast. Our mission is clear and ongoing, which is to thwart terrorism, act decisively against any threat, and protect the citizens of the State of Israel.”