The press corps boarded buses in Jerusalem early this morning, around 7 a.m., en route for Ramallah, in the West Bank.
President Bush is meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas this morning.
As we sat in the buses waiting to leave, our drivers taped over all the Hebrew scripts on the outside of the bus.
"We are going to the West Bank, so … " said Peri, the Jewish son of Yemeni immigrants, who was driving one of the buses.
The White House staff also issued each journalist his or her passport before we boarded the buses. Usually the White House holds each passport for the entirety of a foreign trip, to expedite movements in and out of foreign countries.
But each journalist was given his or her passport back today in case of an emergency or in case he or she was somehow separated from the convoy. To be without identification in the Palestinian-controlled portion of the West Bank is not a good scenario.
— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times
Comments (1)
"To be without identification in the Palestinian-controlled portion of the West Bank is not a good scenario."
Who told you that, your Israeli bus driver? That's a bit of a melodramatic statement, as was taping over the Hebrew on the sides of the bus. You think Egged buses and settlers cover up Hebrew script on their vehicles? I can tell you it's far more dangerous to be a Palestinian in the West Bank than it is a foreigner or Israeli.....
Posted by Matt Keene | January 10, 2008 6:38 AM