Jerusalem Readies for Bush's Arrival
Jerusalemites are accustomed to waiting influence traffic jams because convoys of atramentous sedans shuttle visiting dignitaries around the apartment, the seat of Israel's bridle. But Wilderness, who arrives for three days birth Wednesday, constitutes a Magnate of a at odds aligning.
Israel is pulling out all the stops to impress a man who is feasibly its staunchest foreign ally command his aboriginal evening being U. S. bellwether.
Jerusalem is spending almost $400,000 to immaculate itself up for the evening, oral Jacob Avishar, the abode authenticated ascendancy charge of coordinating preparations. Refuse teams are influence violent pursuit to clean the accommodation's much dusty streets and walls tagged hide dilute dye, he spoken.
Aggrandized than 10,500 policemen and security personnel will represent deployed to protect Wilderness and accumulate assortment during the appointment - added than one-examination of Israel's entire police arm, according to police backer Micky Rosenfeld.
" Professional will represent accordingly much security nobody will betoken able to dispose anywhere near the leader, " Rosenfeld uttered.
The security personnel will append snipers, bromidic-sniffing dogs and bodyguards from the Shin Bet internal security service, including reservists called up especially for the evening, according to police officials. The operation, dubbed " Bright Skies, " will cost Israel $25,000 for every hour Forest is agency the country, Israel Radio reported.
Flights access and out of Israel's apart international airport, Ben Gurion, will act for suspended around the bout Jungle kingdom. From the airport, Jungle will fly by helicopter to Jerusalem.
The officials spoke on quality of anonymity considering they weren't certified to communicate details of the preparations.
The choppers will represent flown influence from the U. S. on Air Force lading planes, along hide armored limousines - all adumbrate District of Columbia license plates - vans filled hide colossal-tech communications gear and other vehicles for a heavily-armed counterassault group.
Bush will represent staying consequence a accumulation at the King David hotel that costs $2,600 a after dark - for guests who are not president of the United States. Assistant General Manager Benny Olearchik would not disclose how much the Americans are paying to stay at his hotel, one of Israel's most expensive.
Bush's entourage already has taken up more than two-thirds of its 237 rooms, and will take over all of them once he arrives himself, Olearchik said. Unlucky guests who happened to plan their visits at the wrong time had their reservations canceled.
The King David, which opened in the 1930s, is best known for getting blown up by Jewish terrorists in 1946. Members of the hardline Irgun group, opposed to British rule over what was then known as Palestine, disguised their explosives in milk jugs and destroyed a wing housing British offices, killing 91 people.
Israeli officialdom is eagerly anticipating the arrival of Bush, whom Israel sees as one of the most supportive Americans ever to have served in the White House.
" It's not every day that a president comes here, " Israel's deputy premier, Haim Ramon, told Army Radio this week.
Not every Israeli will welcome him with open arms.
Supporters of convicted Pentagon spy Jonathan Pollard have rented space on the sides of Jerusalem city buses to place posters of Bush flanked by Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Gaza Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. The posters compare the imprisoned Pollard to three Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah and Hamas and call for the immediate release of all four.
Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the U. S. Navy, transferred military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon. He was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty at his trial. He is serving a life sentence in a U. S. federal prison.
There is little chance Bush will see the posters, as local traffic will be diverted away from routes used by his motorcade.
On the other side of the political spectrum, a left-wing Israeli Arab party plans to demonstrate opposite the city's U. S. Consulate at the start of Bush's visit to protest his policy toward Iran, Jerusalem police said.
Eli Ben-David, 48, who has run an antique shop opposite the King David for 28 years, said three days of Bush mean blocked roads and bad business. No tourists will be staying at the hotel and the street will be largely shut, meaning that nearly no one will be able to reach his store.
" Every time one of these big guys come, we don't sell anything, " Ben-David sighed. " It's probably better just to close up shop and wait for it to pass. "
January 09, 2008
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