![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Neria-Leiter-attack.avif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIsraeli security forces at the scene of a car-ramming attack near the Maccabim checkpoint in the West Bank, where an Neria Leiter was injured, September 23, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Neria Leiter, 38, was struck at the Maccabim checkpoint on Route 443 by a Palestinian driver who drove toward a joint police-IDF patrol. Troops at the scene shot and killed the attacker, according to the IDF. <\/p>\n
Neria continued serving in the reserves after his older brother, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter, a father of six who was completing his medical training, was killed in Gaza in November 2023. His father said Neria has served hundreds of days on multiple fronts since the deadly Hamas raids that launched the war on Oct. 7, 2023.<\/p>\n
Israeli authorities identified the attacker as Mahmoud Mohammad Suleiman, 29, from the nearby Palestinian village of Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of Ramallah.<\/p>\n
Leiter suffered a severe head injury and was taken unconscious to Jerusalem\u2019s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where he was sedated and ventilated. <\/p>\n
His father had been set to accompany Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his participation Thursday in the high-level opening session of the U.N. General Assembly. Instead he flew to Israel to be with his son.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen,\u201d Leiter wrote on X. \u201cNeria needs a miracle.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cPalestinian terrorism seeks to uproot the people of Israel from their land,\u201d Yechiel Leiter wrote. \u201cThey choose death \u2013 we choose life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu visited the Leiter family in the hospital before leaving for New York, issuing a message asking the public to pray for Neria\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire nation is with you,\u201d Netanyahu wrote on X.<\/p>\n
In a post on X, spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Washington, Tal Naim, said she was with the ambassador in New York when he received the news that his son had been injured. The two had been preparing for a round of media interviews.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Newsmax shortly before learning about his son, Leiter spoke about what he called \u201cthe unimaginable reality we have been living with in Israel,\u201d Naim recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sent in our troops on the ground to prevent mass bombings, we lost our children because of this, and still get accused of committing a genocide,\u201d Leiter said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Neria wrote about the difficulty of returning to combat as a bereaved brother, saying he nevertheless felt he could not remain on the sidelines while his fellow reservists continued serving.<\/p>\n
In a May post on social media, Neria wrote: \u201cAs a bereaved brother \u2026 the decision to return to reserve duty was not simple at all,\u201d but added that nevertheless, he could not stand on the sidelines while his friends continued serving repeated tours.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite all the difficulty, I feel an enormous privilege,\u201d he wrote, \u201cto take part in these historic moments \u2026 to defend our home.\u201d <\/p>\n
The attack came three days after a Palestinian gunman killed an Israeli father of six, Netanel Shukron, near Neve Tzuf, northwest of Ramallah, amid a recent spate of attacks in the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Following Wednesday\u2019s ramming attack, the IDF announced additional reinforcements in the West Bank, including the deployment of the 98th Division headquarters to the area.<\/p>\n