By DPA,
Jerusalem : Israeli police have increased their alert level to one grade below an emergency situation ahead of an international conference of world leaders, President George W. Bush among them, to take pace in Jerusalem this week, Israeli media reported Monday.
Around 8,000 police will be deployed in the city’s streets, in particular around the President’s Residence, the Knesset and the Prime Minister’s Office, and five special police command posts will be set up.
The conference, “Facing Tomorrow”, is being held as part of Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations and is being hosted by President Shimon Peres.
In addition to Bush, other participants include Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy of the so-called Quartet of the US, Russia, the European Union (EU) and the UN, former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger.
The presidents of Georgia, Croatia, Albania, Poland and Mongolia, the prime ministers of Slovakia and Hungary, and a host of business people, including Google founder Sergey Brinn and Yahoo President Susan Decker are also expected to attend.
In addition to attending the conference, where he will give a keynote address Wednesday, Bush will also hold talks with Israeli leaders and address the Knesset, and will visit the ancient desert fortress of Masada, an important Israeli national symbol.