The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yehiel Laiter, left Washington, D.C., to return to Israel, after his son, reserve soldier Neria, was seriously injured in a run-over attack that occurred near the “Bel” checkpoint on Route 443 in the Binyamin area in the West Bank. The injured person was transferred to receive treatment at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem.
In a report prepared by journalists Gilly Cohen and Haim Goldich for the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Kan), Ambassador Leiter was quoted as saying that his son “needs a miracle,” adding: “I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that miracles happen when the people of Israel unite.” The father pointed out that his son Neria spent hundreds of days in reserve service, despite the martyrdom of his older brother, Moshe Yedidia, earlier during the battles.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Israeli forces killed the perpetrator of the ramming attack, named Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman (29 years old) from the neighboring village of Beit Ur al-Tahta. According to Israeli security estimates, the attack was planned in advance and was carried out by Suleiman alone, taking advantage of his familiarity with the nature of the area surrounding his hometown.
The report indicated that the perpetrator used a vehicle with a yellow Israeli registration plate stolen from a car that had been taken out of service four months ago, which enabled him to move freely without raising suspicions. According to security sources, Suleiman was not known to the security services due to his previous background, and he did not have a work permit. Following the incident, forces from the Israeli army and the Shin Bet security service stormed his village to interrogate members of his family as part of the ongoing investigations.
This incident is the second attack of its kind in the region in less than a week. On the eve of Yom Kippur, Israeli Nathaniel Shkron was killed as a result of gunfire near a spring in the vicinity of the Neve Tzuf settlement, where he was accompanied by his eldest son. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition before his death was announced, leaving behind a wife and six children. The Kan Authority explained that the security forces arrested the perpetrator of the shooting attack, who is from the Palestinian village of Biddu, following a chase.
In a related context, Yoav (16 years old), the son of the slain Shukron, narrated the details of the attack in an interview with the Commission, noting that his father was alerted to the presence of an armed man and asked him to flee immediately before he was shot in front of him.
