West Bank Ramming attack: Injured man named as Neriah Leiter, son of Israel's US Ambassador

An Israeli man around 40 years old was seriously injured in a ramming attack on Wednesday that occurred at the Beit Sira checkpoint on Route 443.

The man was later named as Neriah Leiter, the son of Israel's Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter. Ambassador Leiter wrote following the announcment that "Neriah needs a miracle." He asked for the public to pray for his son and thanked the IDF and the Shaare Zedek medical teams who "are fighting for Neriah's life."

Ambassador Leiter wrote that Neriah had considered to serve in reserve duty despite the death of his brother Maj. (res.) Moshe Leiter's death in battle in November 2023.

An investigation of the incident indicates that the victim was standing outside his vehicle at the time, when the assailant, Suleiman Mahmoud, 29, from the village of Beit Ur al-Tahta, was driving a vehicle that veered off the road.

The terrorist drove from west to east on a road designated for Palestinian vehicle traffic, suddenly swerved left, and hit the Israeli man directly.

Immediately afterward, a soldier stationed at the checkpoint engaged and attempted to neutralize the attacker; the terrorist also tried to hit the soldier's vehicle, and in response, the other soldiers opened fire at him and killed him.

David Krispil, a United Hatzalah medic, reported from the scene: "I arrived at the location within a few minutes, where United Hatzalah medics and a paramedic were already treating a man around 40 years old who had been injured in a ramming attack.

The terrorist was neutralized at the scene. The injured person is in serious condition and was evacuated to the hospital by ambulance after receiving initial medical treatment."

On the eve of Yom Kippur, Netanel (Nati) Shukron, 49 years old, a resident of Ali Zahav and father of six children—Yoav, Talia, Yael, Tamar, Noa, and Uri—was murdered in a shooting attack near Neve Tzuf in Binyamin. The day before yesterday, he was laid to rest in the cemetery in his community.

Following the attack in Samaria, the security forces carried out several prevention and defense operations in the West Bank throughout Yom Kippur. Among other measures, the IDF, Civil Administration forces, Shin Bet, and the Judea and Samaria district police were deployed in the communities and on the roads in reinforced form, with dozens of battalions, commando units, and additional forces.