Dr. Yechiel Leiter, Ambassador of Israel to the United States, speaking at the 2026 Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Washington Summit at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said Friday that his son, Neria Leiter, remains on life support, more than a week after the reserve soldier was critically wounded in a car-ramming terror attack in the West Bank.

Joined by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the Leiter family at the hospital, the Israeli diplomat expressed “immense gratitude” for the support and prayers offered on his son’s behalf, saying they have provided his family with strength as they continue to hope for his recovery.

“Your prayers have given my family and me tremendous strength in the knowledge that prayers matter,” Leiter wrote in a statement. “Please continue to pray for Neriyah’s recovery, perhaps next Simchat Torah he will be able to rejoice together with his darling wife and children.”

As I sit here at my son Neriyah’s bedside, I am thinking about what the most appropriate message would be as we enter the Simchat Torah holiday.

Neriyah is still on life support and my first thought is one of immense gratitude for the support and all the prayers on his behalf.… pic.twitter.com/J9nNDgW4YW

— Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter (@yechielleiter) October 2, 2026

Leiter — a resident of Eli, a Jewish community in Samaria, and a longtime Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist — was seriously wounded last week when a terrorist drove a vehicle toward a police car where he and a policewoman were stationed during a joint volunteer operation.

The ambassador’s 30-year-old son was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem after suffering a severe head injury in the car-ramming attack near the Maccabim checkpoint.

Upon arriving at the hospital, doctors found him unconscious and in critical condition, requiring sedation and a ventilator as he remained under intensive medical care.

The medical center later announced that Leiter’s son underwent brain surgery that lasted several hours, along with additional treatments, but is now in stable condition as doctors continue to monitor his recovery.

Israeli security officials identified the attacker as 29-year-old Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman — a resident of Beit Ur al-Thaqa, a Palestinian village near Ramallah — with initial assessments indicating that he planned the attack in advance, acted alone, and knew the area well because of its proximity to his home.

Authorities also confirmed that the terrorist had no prior record with security forces, had never applied for a work permit, and had no authorization to be inside the Green Line — the armistice line that marked Israel’s boundaries before the 1967 Six-Day War.

He reportedly carried out the attack using a vehicle with a yellow Israeli license plate, which allowed him to pass through the area without immediately raising suspicion.

Shortly after the attack, Ambassador Leiter announced that he was leaving the United States and returning to Israel, meaning he was not able to accompany Netanyahu to the United Nations General Assembly as previously scheduled.

The ambassador’s older son, Major Moshe Yedidia Leiter, 39, was killed in November 2023 while serving in reserve duty in the northern Gaza Strip. He was among five reserve soldiers killed when a large explosion caused part of a building to collapse as they searched the structure for a tunnel shaft.