Israeli forces shot and killed 29-year-old Palestinian Mahmoud Mohammad Suleiman near Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, on Wednesday, following what Israeli police described as a car-ramming that seriously wounded an Israeli reservist.
Israeli police alleged that Suleiman accelerated toward a police patrol vehicle at the Maccabim, or “Bell,” military roadblock on Route 443, near Beit Ur al-Tahta.
The police stated that a police officer and an Israeli reservist were conducting a joint operation at the roadblock. Israeli forces shot Suleiman at the scene.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported that Suleiman knew the area well and acted alone. The broadcaster also alleged that the vehicle carried a stolen Israeli license plate linked to a car removed from service several months earlier.
The wounded reservist was identified as Neria Leiter, an American citizen and the son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter.
Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem said Leiter underwent several hours of emergency brain surgery and additional procedures. His condition had stabilized but remained serious and life-threatening, according to the hospital’s latest statement.
Unidentified local sources said Israeli forces later invaded Beit Ur al-Tahta, deployed across the village and broke into Suleiman’s family home.
Beit Ur al-Tahta Mayor Hazem Suleiman told AFP that Israeli forces closed the village’s entrances and searched additional homes, disrupting movement and commercial activity.
