Air Force 1 touched down in Ben-Gurion International Airport moments ago, at 12:10 local time. The extremely large military and political welcoming delegation is taking its place as the presidential plane taxis along the runway.

For Israel, this marks the beginning of the first visit to Israel by President Barak Obama, who visited in the past as a US senator. Jerusalem is shifting to operational mode and Jerusalemites are preparing for some difficult days; from the aspect of getting around the center of town, public transportation and driving a private vehicle. The fact that Yomtov is only days away and many are still hoping to do major Pesach shopping only complicates matters for many residents.

At the airport, the red carpet is laid out and the ceremonies practiced over recent days will soon become live events televised around the world.

The Israel Government Press Office has set up a state-of-the-art press center for the foreign press, which will provide each corresponded registered and cleared for the event with a booth containing a laptop and live feed of the entire presidential visit. For those correspondents not selected to accompany the presidential visit, they will have constant live streaming real-time feeds of the entire visit.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)