Son of Israeli ambassador to US critically injured in West Bank ramming attack

Oliver Contreras/AFP/Getty Images/File

The son of Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter was critically injured in a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday afternoon, according to regional authorities, one day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled speech at the United Nations.

Neria Leiter, a reserve soldier manning a checkpoint near the settlement of Beit Horon, was rushed to a hospital in Jerusalem, according to emergency response services.

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

The driver of the car, 29-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, a Palestinian from the nearby village of Beit Ur al-Tahta, was shot and killed at the scene of the attack, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Hamas praised the attack in a statement Wednesday, describing it as a “natural response” to Israeli actions in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The militant group in the Gaza Strip called for increased resistance against Israel but did not claim responsibility for the attack.

Leiter’s elder son, 39-year-old Moshe Yedidya Leiter, was killed fighting in Gaza in November 2023 in the first weeks of the war triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel the month before.

The ramming attack occurred just days after a shooting in the West Bank on the eve of the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur. On Sunday morning, Netanel Shukrun, a father of six from the settlement of Alei Zahav, was shot and killed while bathing at a natural spring in the West Bank as part of the holiday customs. Shukrun’s 16-year-old son credited his father with saving his life when he shouted out a warning to take cover.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrested the suspected shooter at a hospital near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the military said Sunday. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the death penalty in the case under a new law applying capital punishment to terrorism and nationalistic murders.

After the shooting, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, said: “The IDF is on high alert, deployed and prepared with soldiers reinforced across all sectors, including throughout the fast. Our mission is clear and ongoing — to thwart terrorism, act decisively against every threat, and protect the citizens of the State of Israel.”

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has carried out waves of widescale military operations in the West Bank intended to target what officials view as centers of terrorist activity. The operations have led to the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians across the territory and military raids into Palestinian villages.

“Terrorism currently in Judea and Samaria is at its lowest level in decades,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in early September, using the biblical name for the West Bank, “and we will take all necessary steps to prevent terrorism from rearing its head again.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Oliver Contreras/AFP/Getty Images/文件

据地区当局称，以色列驻美国大使叶希尔·莱特的儿子周三下午在被占领的约旦河西岸遭遇汽车冲撞袭击，身受重伤。事发前一天，以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡原定在联合国发表讲话。

据紧急救援部门称，在贝特霍伦定居点附近检查站执勤的预备役士兵内里亚·莱特被紧急送往耶路撒冷的一家医院。

莱特在社交媒体上发表声明说：“内里亚需要一个奇迹。我相信祈祷的力量，我相信当以色列人民团结起来时，奇迹就会发生。”

据巴勒斯坦卫生部称，汽车司机马哈茂德·穆罕默德·马哈茂德·苏莱曼，29岁，是来自附近贝特乌尔塔赫塔村的巴勒斯坦人，在袭击现场被枪杀。

哈马斯周三发表声明，称赞此次袭击是对以色列在西岸和耶路撒冷行动的“自然回应”。这个位于加沙地带的武装组织呼吁加大对以色列的抵抗力度，但并未声称对此次袭击负责。

莱特的长子，39岁的摩西·耶迪迪亚·莱特，于2023年11月在加沙的战斗中丧生。这场战争是由哈马斯领导的对以色列的袭击引发的，而袭击发生在前一个月。

就在犹太教赎罪日前夕，西岸发生枪击事件几天后，又发生了这起驾车袭击事件。周日早上，来自阿莱扎哈夫定居点的六个孩子的父亲内塔内尔·舒克伦在西岸一处天然泉水沐浴时，遭到枪击身亡。当时，他正在按照节日习俗沐浴。舒克伦16岁的儿子表示，是父亲及时发出警告，让他寻找掩护，才救了他一命。

以色列国防军周日表示，他们在约旦河西岸城市拉马拉附近的一家医院逮捕了枪击案嫌疑人。极右翼国家安全部长伊塔马尔·本-格维尔呼吁根据一项对恐怖主义和民族主义谋杀适用死刑的新法律，对该嫌疑人判处死刑。

枪击事件发生后，以色列国防军总参谋长埃亚尔·扎米尔中将表示：“以色列国防军处于高度戒备状态，所有地区均已部署兵力，包括斋戒期间。我们的任务明确且持续——挫败恐怖主义，果断打击一切威胁，保护以色列公民。”

自2023年10月7日起，以色列在西岸地区开展了一系列大规模军事行动，旨在打击以色列官员眼中的恐怖活动中心。这些行动导致数万巴勒斯坦人流离失所，并对巴勒斯坦村庄进行了军事突袭。

“目前犹太和撒玛利亚地区的恐怖主义活动处于几十年来的最低水平，”以色列国防部长以色列·卡茨在9月初表示（他使用了圣经中对西岸地区的称呼），“我们将采取一切必要措施，防止恐怖主义再次抬头。”

这是一则正在更新的新闻。