Security swells as Jerusalem prepares for Trump visit
King David Hotel braces to receive US president, whose entourage will fill all six floors of the building
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
With US President Donald Trump set to visit Israel in less than two weeks, ramped up security activity has begun to be felt in and around the Jerusalem hotel where the American leader is set to stay.
Reportedly dubbed Operation Blue Shield, the massive security operation will involve thousands of police, blocked roads, drones and other measures during Trump’s two-day visit.
Local business owners on King David Street told the Times of Israel they are already being canvassed by Israeli and US security teams, and police Wednesday distributed notices in surrounding streets warning residents that there will no parking at all from May 21-23.
Any vehicles found during that time will be towed to a lot across the capital, the fliers warned.
Trump is rumored to arrive in Israel on May 22, and although no formal announcement has yet been made, the King David Hotel is already in a flurry of activity, Channel 10 television reported.
The overnight stay is the first by a US leader since Barack Obama visited in March 2013, also booking a pad at the King David.
Trump will stay in the aptly named “Presidential Suite,” usually costs NIS 20,000 ($5,540) a night. Leaving nothing to chance, US security teams will replace all telephones and televisions in the room with devices specially flown in from the US.
Trump’s entourage will take over all six floors in the building and some 500 guests who had already made reservations will be relocated to other hotels.
Down in the kitchens, every move by kitchen staff will be watched over by a dedicated security detail.
“Any food I touch, the assigned people are watching me,” explained chef David Bitan. “It is stressful but we are well-trained in cooking for world leaders.”
At Ben-Gurion International Airport officials are already in talks with US security teams and embassy staff to coordinate Trump’s arrival, in which several aircraft will accompany Air Force One, the report said.
Organizers are hoping to avoid a repeat of a mishap during Obama’s visit in which the presidential limousine broke down in the hours ahead of his arrival, reportedly after being tanked up with the wrong type of fuel.
During his time in the country, Trump is expected to travel mostly by helicopter, visiting President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and giving an address at the Masada hilltop fortress in the Judean desert.
The King David opened in 1931 and is the favored place to stay for visiting world leaders. Over the decades the hotel has hosted former US presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Obama among others.
