US President George W. Bush arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport shortly before noon Wednesday, and was welcomed warmly by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and a host of dozens of dignitaries.
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Notable in his absence at the well-orchestrated red-carpet ceremony was Pensioners Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, who was Jonathan Pollard's handler in the 1980s when he headed the Israeli Intelligence Lakam Bureau. Commentators raised the possibility that his absence was linked to a desire not to irk the visting President Bush with a reminder about Pollard – but this appears to be untrue, as Eitan is invited to a special gathering with Bush later on today.
Issues on the agenda between Bush and his hosts will likely include the Iranian threat, Israel's position vis-à-vis the talks with the Palestinian Authority and the possibility of a future Palestinian state, and – in some meetings - Jonathan Pollard. Olmert has given no indication as to whether he will bring up the topic with Bush.
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Following earlier reports that Bush did not plan on meeting with Opposition Leader and ex-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, staffers from Bush's office contacted Netanyahu and asked to schedule a meeting with him. It has long been a tradition that visiting dignitaries meet with Israel's opposition leader.
Many Jerusalem streets were closed to traffic for close to an hour in honor of Bush's visit – but the resulting traffic jams were smaller than expected. This was because many Jerusalemites simply decided to stay home today, in anticipation of the difficulties Bush's visit would cause. Video from some 150 cameras, photographing intersections around the city and arriving at the traffic headquarters on the Givat Mordechai overpass atop Menachem Begin Highway, shows that the roads are relatively empty.
Only 29 cars that were parked in forbidden areas were towed away over the night. Motorists had been warned beforehand not to park in certain areas along the expected route of President Bush from the Givat Ram University campus helicopter landing pad to the King David Hotel.
Thursday and Friday, as well, many streets will be closed intermittently, in order to allow Bush's motorcade to pass unhindered and safely. On Thursday, Bush will likely fly by helicopter to Ramallah, just north of Jerusalem, and no roads to the nearby Jewish towns of Beit El and Psagot are expected to be affected. Bush is to leave Israel on Friday.