Israel is fond of ratcheting up security during any high profile domestic event, but seems to be taking it a step farther with the visit of President Trump over the weekend, with Jerusalem police announcing that not only will a number of stores be closed down for the duration of Trump’s trip, but a number of residents of the Old City are being evicted for security reasons.
Details on how many people are getting evicted and why are scant, but officials say that at least some of the homes they are seizing for the visit will be “taken over by police,” nominally to enhance security surrounding Trump’s visit to the Western Wall.
Perhaps the biggest question about the evictions is how long they will last, as people were being chased out of their homes in advance of Trump’s arrival, and Israel does not have the best history of expelling people from their homes and letting them back in later.
An apparent obstacle to the visit is President Trump’s massive personal limousine, which is far too large to reach the usual gate used for visits to the area by foreign dignitaries. Instead Trump will have to park much farther away, and walk through the Christian Quarter of the Old City, which is populated largely by Arabs.