By BB Portnoy
Massive security preparations are underway in Israel ahead of the funeral tomorrow, Erev Shabbos, of former President Shimon Peres, who died on Wednesday at the age of 93.
Following the death of Peres, Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency began to assess the steps that would need to be taken to protect the dozens of world leaders — potentially including US President Barack Obama — who are expected to fly to Israel for the funeral on Mount Herzl in Yerushalayim, NRG reported. The report described the monumental effort as the “largest security operation” since the 1995 funeral of assassinated Israeli prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin.
One of the security steps would be the establishment of “sterile zones” at the cemetery.
Ben-Gurion International Airport will bring in dozens of extra workers in the coming days to deal with the influx of visitors for the funeral, Ynet reported. Due to Rosh Hashanah, the coming days were already supposed to be jam-packed at Israel’s main international gateway. A record 95,000 passengers are expected to pass through Ben-Gurion on Thursday.
According to the Ynet report, 30 wide-body passenger planes and 60 private aircraft will be arriving in Israel carrying funeral guests.
“We will use all means at our disposal” to manage the situation, the Israel Airports Authority said in a statement. (c) 2016 The Algemeiner
{Matzav.com Israel}
