Israel's Envoy to US Condemns Jewish Violence in West Bank

Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, has strongly condemned what he termed "Jewish rioters" in the West Bank, stating "we must stop them." Speaking in an interview with CNN, Leiter addressed both national security issues and his personal struggle following his son Neria's severe injury in a car-ramming attack. He described Neria's condition, noting that his son was hit by a vehicle traveling at approximately 90 km/h, resulting in a head injury requiring open-brain surgery. Neria remains in a deep coma, though he has shown some improvement and can now breathe independently.

Leiter also discussed Israeli politics, clarifying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stance on potential coalition partners. He stated that Netanyahu desires a broad national unity government and has indicated that Itamar Ben-Gvir, the current National Security Minister, would not serve as Defense Minister or retain his current role. Leiter characterized Ben-Gvir as primarily a "representative figure" whose influence on actual police policy is limited.

Addressing the rise in violence in the West Bank, Leiter called the recent attack on Washington Post reporter Heidi Levine "completely unacceptable." He acknowledged that the state needs to do a better job of bringing Jewish lawbreakers to justice, citing Prime Minister Netanyahu's determination to halt the phenomenon. Leiter presented statistics showing 26 Jews killed by Palestinian terrorists in 2025 compared to two Arabs killed by Jewish perpetrators, estimating the number of Jewish rioters to be a marginal group of 50 to 200 out of approximately 600,000 Jewish residents in the West Bank.

On the topic of Iran, Leiter outlined three conditions for regional stability: preventing nuclear weapons, limiting ballistic missiles, and ceasing support for proxies. He noted Iran's substantial financial support to Hezbollah despite its own economic struggles and expressed a desire to see the Iranian regime fall. Leiter also commented on the relationship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, describing their approximately 40-year friendship as deep and noting an excellent relationship between the two leaders, which he believes has been proven over the past year.