Israel's US ambassador says his son was injured in West Bank car-ramming incident

Incident overview

On 23 September 2026 a vehicle approached Israeli forces stationed at a checkpoint near the settlement of Beit Horon, west of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. Israeli police described the event as a car-ramming attack. The driver was shot dead by the soldiers, and a Palestinian man identified by the Palestinian Health Ministry as 29-year-old Mahmoud Mohammad Mahmoud Suleiman was also killed.

Ambassador’s statement

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, posted on social media that his son, identified as Neria Dov ben Chana, a serving soldier, was wounded in the incident. He said medical teams were working to save his life and that the soldier had been evacuated to a hospital in serious condition.

Official responses

Israeli national emergency services confirmed the evacuation of the injured soldier and described his condition as critical. Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, expressed solidarity with Leiter, noting that the nation was praying for the wounded soldier. The incident follows previous casualties among Leiter’s family, including the death of another son, Moshe Yedidya, in Gaza in November 2023.

Unverified aspects

Details about the motive of the driver, the exact sequence of events at the checkpoint, and the current medical status of the soldier remain unconfirmed pending further information from Israeli authorities.