‘Israeli’ ambassador’s son wounded in West Bank car-ramming attack

• The son of ‘Israel’s’ ambassador to Washington was wounded in a car-ramming attack at a military checkpoint near Beit Horon, west of Ramallah.
• Palestinian authorities identified the alleged attacker as 29-year-old Mahmoud Mohammed Mahmoud Suleiman, who was killed by ‘Israeli’ forces.

The son of ‘Israel’s’ ambassador to the United States was wounded Wednesday in a car-ramming attack at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, according to ‘Israeli’ authorities.

‘Israeli’ police said the attacker drove his vehicle toward a car carrying a police officer and a soldier near the settlement of Beit Horon, west of Ramallah.

The soldier was wounded and taken for medical treatment, while the attacker was killed by gunfire from ‘Israeli’ forces, police said.

‘Israel’s’ Magen David Adom ambulance service said its teams transported a man in serious condition to hospital.

‘Israel’s’ ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, later said his son, Neria, was the wounded soldier.

"Neria needs a miracle," Leiter wrote on X, adding that his son had continued serving in the reserve forces after his older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, was killed during fighting in the Gaza Strip in November 2023.

‘Israeli’ political figures subsequently expressed support for the Leiter family.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that he and his wife, Sara, along with "all the people of Israel," were praying for Neria's recovery.

According to public broadcaster Kan, Leiter had been planning to attend Netanyahu's address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday but left the United States for ‘Israel’ following the attack.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said it had been informed of the "martyrdom" of Mahmoud Mohammed Mahmoud Suleiman, 29, after he was shot near Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of Ramallah. The ministry said his body was being withheld.

Hamas described the attack as a "natural response" to what it called settler violence, actions by ‘Israeli’ authorities and repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The group called for an escalation of resistance "in all its forms and means" against the occupation and settlers.

Violence has intensified across the occupied West Bank, which ‘Israel’ has occupied since 1967, since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.

On Sunday, an ‘Israeli’ settler was shot dead near Ramallah. The ‘Israeli’ army said it arrested a suspect in the attack. The same day, the army said its forces killed a Palestinian who allegedly attempted to ram soldiers with a vehicle near Jenin.

At least 1,111 Palestinians, including armed fighters, have been killed by ‘Israeli’ soldiers or settlers since the Gaza war began, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Palestinian Authority data.

Meanwhile, official ‘Israeli’ figures show at least 49 ‘Israelis’, including civilians and military personnel, have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians or during confrontations with ‘Israeli’ forces.