Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., December 19, 2007 Tevet 10, 5768 | | Israel Time: 06:57 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File Hanukkah

U.S. President George W. Bush. (Reuters) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 06:55 19/12/2007 PMO establishes task force dedicated to preparing for Bush's visit By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Agencies Tags: Task force, Bush visit, U.S.  The Prime Minister's Office has established a task force dedicated only to preparing for U.S. President George Bush's visit. Bush is scheduled to arrive in Israel on January 9, as part of a follow-up to the process that began in Annapolis last month. D Advertisement uring his nine-day trip to the region, he is scheduled to stop in the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as well. The trip was described as a "work visit, not an official state visit," in part because this is a way to avoid the difficulties inherent in organizing a similar visit to the Palestinian Authority. The Bush Task Force at the Prime Minister's Office will be headed by Amnon Ben-Ami, deputy director of the PMO. Ben-Ami held initial discussions Sunday on the necessary preparations with representatives of all other relevant ministries and official bodies. A senior source at the Prime Minister's Bureau noted that Ben-Ami and the task force are currently preparing a detailed timetable, assigning responsibility for specific tasks and issuing instructions to the various ministries. "So many bodies are involved in this visit and there needs to be coordination between all of them, so a task force was set up," a source in Olmert's bureau said Tuesday. In anticipation of the visit, the task force will supervise a number of officers in the police, the fire department, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Airports Authority and the Foreign Ministry, among others. At this point, three weeks prior to the visit, dozens of people in the various ministries are busy preparing for Bush's arrival. The Bush Task Force will hold periodic assessments of the progress in preparations and manage the visit itself. At least 8,000 police officers will provide security for the visit. An official ceremony will be held at Ben-Gurion International Airport, with VIPs welcoming the U.S. president. The president, the prime minister, ministers, MKs, General Staff officers, senior police officers, the Supreme Court president and other dignitaries are expected to attend. Following the ceremony, Bush will head to Jerusalem with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Route 1 will be blocked from the airport to the capital, and traffic will be diverted to route 443. "Route 1 was closed for previous visits by American presidents," a source in the Prime Minister's Bureau said Tuesday. Related articles: White House confirms Bush will visit the Middle East in January Abbas aide: Bush's visit to Israel, PA set for January 9-11 Bush to make first official visit to Israel in January to push talks Bookmark to del.icio.us Organic memory Israeli research is among '50 most significant scientific breakthroughs in 2007.' Floating the PA International donors pledged $7.4 billion to help boost the PA economy .

Today Online IDF strikes kill at least 11 Islamic Jihad, Hamas militants Responses: 484 Bradley Burston: Killing the Palestinian who wishes you dead Responses: 126 Rosner's guest: The PA's goal is the destruction of Israel Responses: 131 Yoel Marcus: Israel doesn't need a new Vietnam called Gaza Responses: 136 Officials: Israel to allow construction in W. Bank settlements Responses: 177 Rosner's Domain Rabin's long memory and the U.S. NIE report on Iran The more Jews complain about Huckabee...(What to Read) Guest: Leader of the Zionist Organization of America on post-Annapolis Mideast Without the Reform movement in Israel, there's no Reform movement More Headlines 03:04 Min. pushes new E. J'lem neighborhood for Jews 06:54 Mortar hits near IDF base; six soldiers treated for shock 02:52 Argentina: Iran responsible for 1990s bombings at Jewish sites 06:33 Analysis / Escalation in Gaza / Anything but an invasion 01:53 Canadian Jewish tycoon Alex Shnaider buys Maccabi Tel Aviv 06:55 PMO establishes task force dedicated to preparing for Bush's visit 03:24 Two Haaretz writers win Sokolow Prize for Journalism 01:09 Israel expects over 60,000 pilgrims to come for Christmas 05:32 Israel, Russia reach agreement eliminating visa requirement 02:13 Treasure-hunting sisters find human remains from Roman era Previous Editions Select Day 18 dec 17 dec 16 dec 14 dec 13 dec 12 dec 11 dec 10 dec 09 dec 07 dec 06 dec 05 dec

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