Jerusalem und George Bush

B"J

Aus der Jerusalem Post


Traffic changes for the capital

Motorists and city residents should expect massive traffic congestion and road lock-down in central Jerusalem starting Wednesday morning for the three-day visit of US President George W. Bush.

Police urge the public to avoid the area around King David Street altogether.

STREET CLOSURES:
Tentative schedule for street closures in central Jerusalem around King David Street for Bush's visit.

Wednesday January 9 10:00 a.m. street closed 9:00 p.m. streets opened
Thursday January 10 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. streets closed 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. streets closed
Friday January 11 6:00-11:00 a.m. streets closed

NO PARKING:
From Tuesday night, no parking will be allowed on the following streets:
Gaza, Rupin, King David, Agron and Jabotinsky.
Any vehicle parked on these streets will be towed to a special lot to be set up in the city's Teddy Stadium.

Police will leave notices on buildings along the main streets and areas scheduled to be closed, with a timetable of planned closures. Police appeal to the capital's citizens to use public transportation for the duration of the visit to reduce congestion.

Egged bus routes will be altered according to security needs.

POLICE HOTLINE: 1-700-506-677 with real-time updates on closures and recommended routes.

OUTSIDE THE CITY:
Route 1 will be closed to the public on both sides January 9, (with traffic diverted to route 443) as Bush's entourage travels from Ben Gurion International Airport to Jerusalem. (Road closure plans are subject to change; check police hotline 1-700-506-677 for updates.)

Flights in and out of Israel's only international airport, Ben Gurion, will be suspended around the time Bush lands. (Other suspensions are possible, check hotline for updates.)

From the airport, Bush will fly by helicopter to Jerusalem. The police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to divulge details of the preparations.

The choppers will be flown in from the US on Air Force cargo planes, along with armored limousines - complete with District of Columbia license plates - vans filled with high-tech communications gear and other vehicles for a heavily armed counterassault team.

OTHER:
During the visit, the Old City's five-century- old ramparts will be illuminated with floodlights until 2 am. instead of midnight, so Bush will have more time to enjoy the view from his window at the nearby King David hotel.


All 237 rooms at the King David Hotel, as well as its public areas, will be occupied by Bush's entourage. White House staff (an entourage 200 strong) and media from across the globe (120 members of the press, according to Israeli police) are also renting rooms in other hotels, including all of the 292-room Dan Panorama, King David's sister hotel around the corner, for a grand total of 800 rooms.


A press center for the 120 foreign journalists covering Bush's visit will be set up on Wednesday on the top floor of the Jerusalem Municipality.

More than 10,500 police and security personnel will be deployed to protect Bush and keep order during the visit - more than one-third of Israel's entire police force. In addition, Bush is bringing scores of Marine commandos and heavily armed counterassault security teams for his personal protection.

Israeli security personnel will include snipers, bomb-sniffing dogs and bodyguards from the Shin Bet internal security service, including reservists called up especially for the visit. The operation, dubbed "Clear Skies," will cost Israel $25,000 for every hour Bush is in the country.

White House support staff, US civil servants, State Department officials, Secret Service agents, technicians and even marines have already arrived at the King David hotel to prepare for the Bush visit and to secure the surrounding area.

Security robots have been positioned in nearby street sewers to make sure there are 'no surprises down there.' During the presidential visit this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, snipers will be placed on nearby rooftops and a balloon with camera and night-vision equipment will be on the lookout for terrorists. Both ends of King David Street will be blocked off.

A complete gridlock on the roads of Jerusalem is expected.