US President Joe Biden will visit Israel between Wednesday and Friday, and roads will be closed according to his schedule.
US President Joe Biden will arrive on Wednesday for a presidential visit in Israel that will consist of a packed schedule that includes visits with Prime Minister Yair Lapid, President Isaac Herzog and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden will also visit Yad Vashem and attend the opening ceremony for the Maccabiah Games at Teddy Stadium. Before he leaves for Saudi Arabia, the president is expected to visit the Palestinian Authority, and then a farewell ceremony attended by Lapid will be conducted at Ben-Gurion Airport.
Due to the visit, Israel Police announced that between Wednesday and Friday, traffic obstructions are to be expected on the roads leading to Jerusalem.
Which roads will be closed?
On Wednesday afternoon, the entrance to Jerusalem will be closed from Ginot Sahrov Junction until Yad Vashem as well as Weizmann Street and Herzl Boulevard until Holland Junction.
Toward the end of Biden’s visit to Yad Vashem, Holland Junction and Shmuel Bait Street will be closed in both directions as well as the entry to Smuel Bait from Begin Boulevard.
Other roads that will be closed are Bazak-Herzog, Aza and Keren Hayesod, as well as around Paris Square. Since Biden is staying at the King David Hotel, King David Street will be closed for the duration of the president’s visit.
On Thursday, King David Junction and Jabotinsky Street, Paris Square and Hillel Junction will be closed in the morning and afternoon. In the evening, King David, Keren Hayesod, Aza, Herzog and Golomb streets will be closed.
From Friday morning, Yitzhak Kariv, Agron, King Solomon, Heil Ha’Handasa, Chaim Bar-Lev and Yitzhak Ha’Nadiv streets, as well as University and Paratroopers boulevards will be closed. Later in the morning, Hativat Jerusalem and Derech Hebron will also be closed.
Other preparations
Throughout the visit, over 16,000 police officers, Border Police officers and volunteers will be stationed in order to keep the public peace.
At the same time, the Defense Ministry announced that it has completed its preparations for Biden’s landing.
Hundreds of journalists, invitees, an 85-meter-long red carpet and hundreds of flags will await the president when he lands at Ben Gurion.
In the space where the welcoming ceremony is to be held, a tribune with 150 seats and podiums for journalists and photographers has been set up as well as a tent for the journalists.
The Airports Authority issued a recommendation for passengers to arrive at Ben Gurion via train only after 1 p.m. on Wednesday. It also announced that all flights, both national and international, will be arriving in Terminal 3 until Friday afternoon. Outgoing international flights will be returned to Terminal 1 in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Jerusalem Municipality announced that during Biden’s visit, changes will be made to train and bus schedules, and parking regulations.