Israel police on alert ahead of Obama visit

Israeli police tightened up security measures ahead of US President Barack Obama's three-day trip starting on Wednesday.

"During Obama's historic visit, 5,000 police officers will be on duty. Such measures were last taken in 2008. We are running our operations in cooperation the with US security forces. Police and other security teams will hold tight security measures in and around Jerusalem from Wednesday when the trip starts, until Friday evening," Israel National Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the Anadolu Agency.

Many streets and boulevards will be closed to traffic during Obama's visit.

Obama last visited Israel as a presidential candidate in July 2008.

Monday, March 18, 2013