Reporter's Notebook: Bush Arrives in Jerusalem to Great Fanfare

Bush seeks to recapture lost momentum after Annapolis, Md., summit.

ByABC News
February 6, 2009, 8:43 PM

JERUSALEM, Jan. 9, 2008 — -- These days in Jerusalem it is a good idea to leave for work early. The presidential circus has arrived and the traffic is a nightmare.

This is the first presidential visit to Jerusalem in almost 10 years and the city is bracing for one of the biggest security operations in memory.

According to one Israeli newspaper, the security will cost the Israeli taxpayer $25,000 an hour and involves up to 15,000 police. Jerusalemites have been warned to expect lengthy delays.

As I drove to work this morning, the streets were lined with Israeli police and border guards. Groups of them gathered at every street corner and intersection.

On the lampposts hundreds of stars and stripes are fluttering in the breeze alongside the Israeli flag, the Star of David.

The president will be staying at The King David Hotel, one of Jerusalem's most famous landmarks. The presidential suite looks out over the Old City walls.

President Bush is here to try and kick-start the peace process he launched at the Annapolis Summit in Maryland. Since the summit, the momentum has been lost with both the Israeli and Palestinian sides trading accusations.

The Israelis criticize the Palestinians for not doing enough to crack down on violence. The Palestinians criticize the Israelis for announcing plans to build more settlement homes.

These are familiar arguments and they must be overcome for the peace process to move forward.

The president will combine his work meetings with some sightseeing.

Thursday, he will go to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity. The town is in the Palestinian territories and the president's security will be the first priority.

Friday, he will go to the Holocaust Memorial on the outskirts of Jerusalem before flying to the shores of the Sea of Galilee to visit the Christian pilgrimage sites at Caperneum and the Mount of Beatitudes.

The president's ambition of establishing the parameters of a Palestinian state by the end of his presidency is seen as highly ambitious by most Israelis and Palestinians interviewed by ABC News.