Netanyahu arrives in Palm Beach to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived at Mar-a-Lago to meet with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.

Trump posted a video to his Truth Social account of himself standing on the steps of Mar-a-Lago to welcome Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, after their motorcade made its way onto Palm Beach island about 11:50 a.m. Friday.

While it had been expected that Netanyahu would arrive at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, his plane instead landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport about 10:30 a.m., according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

His motorcade traveled up Florida's Turnpike to Southern Boulevard, and then east to Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club, getting to Palm Beach about 11:50 a.m.

Netanyahu arrived in South Florida from Washington, D.C., where he spoke to Congress on Wednesday and met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday.

Trump announced the meeting Tuesday on Truth Social, and said he looks forward to welcoming Netanyahu to Mar-a-Lago.

"During my first term, we had Peace and Stability in the Region, even signing the historic Abraham Accords — And we will have it again," Trump wrote.

Here are the latest updates on Netanyahu's visit to Palm Beach:

Law enforcement agencies closed roads along Southern Boulevard as they escorted Netanyahu to his meeting with Trump.

Asked about the route, the U.S. Secret Service said it could not comment on any specifics.

"The U.S. Secret Service works closely with our local law enforcement partners to minimize disruptions to the public while ensuring the highest level of safety and security," a Secret Service spokesperson said via email. "For security reasons, we are unable to release specific motorcade routes in advance but the public can expect intermittent road closures and parking restrictions as part of the visit."

Netanyahu and Trump will speak for two to three hours before the Israeli prime minister leaves Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said in a Thursday news conference. Officials will once again close Southern Boulevard as he departs. Netanyahu's office told Israeli media earlier in the week that Netanyahu will remain in the U.S. through the Sabbath before returning to Israel.

Law enforcement officers set up a road block on Southern Boulevard west of the Southern Boulevard Bridge where commercial vehicles are being redirected.

Some vehicles traveling over the bridge were stopped by officers, who raised hoods and trunk lids and scanned underneath each car and truck.

Protesters and supporters gathered along Southern Boulevard.

What are they saying?

Protesters opposed to Netanyahu and the war in Palestine carried signs and shouted anti-Israel and anti-police chants as they stood on the Southern Boulevard Bridge on Friday morning.

A group called Shut Down Elbit South Florida shared a press release and told a Palm Beach Daily News reporter that they want to arrest Netanyahu.

"I'm Jewish, there's other Jewish people present," said one organizer, who declined to give her name and said the group has been painted as terrorists by news outlets in the past. "There's plenty of Jews who don't support committing genocide in Palestine. Zionism is a political ideology separate from Judaism."

She said she believes about 50% of Jewish people in the U.S. do not support what's happening in Palestine. "That's why we're out here, to protest the person doing this and someone who's not welcome in the state of Florida," she said.

Supporters of Trump and Netanyahu also gathered near the bridge, with Israel and U.S. flags and signs that said, "Shalom Bibi," and, "I Stand With Israel."

"I stand with Israel, I stand with peace and I stand against this," Jax Mcanulty, a British citizen, of the group of Palestine supporters.

Both groups - those supporting Palestine and those supporting Trump and Netanyahu - shifted closer to Mar-a-Lago as Netanyahu's motorcade approached.

What kind of security can people expect to see for the visit?

Bradshaw said on Thursday that several law enforcement agencies — including the Florida Highway Patrol, Martin County Sheriff's Office and Broward Sheriff's Office — are assisting with security for Netanyahu's visit.

Several international leaders traveled to Mar-a-Lago when Trump was president, including the late Shinzo Abe of Japan and Xi Jinping, president of China. During those visits, dozens of law enforcement officers were present in the area around Mar-a-Lago and along the stretch of Southern Boulevard between the airport and Trump's estate.

The sheriff's office also will have boats in the water around Mar-a-Lago, Bradshaw said. The estate is essentially a fishbowl, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Intracoastal Waterway to the west, busy Southern Boulevard to the south and Palm Beach's Estate Section to the north.

The Southern Boulevard Bridge will be open for people to gather, but pedestrians will not be allowed east past the smaller bridge on the causeway between West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, Bradshaw said.

The U.S. Secret Service has increased security around Mar-a-Lago since an assassination attempt on Trump during a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump's ear was injured, and three people in the crowd were shot, one of whom died. The suspected shooter also died.

Among the enhanced security measures: South Ocean Boulevard is now closed near Mar-a-Lago, from the Southern Boulevard traffic circle north to the intersection with South County Road. That change took effect July 20. Palm Beach officials are challenging the Secret Service's decision to close the road, suggesting that the road could be open when no protectees are at Mar-a-Lago.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Netanyahu arrives in Palm Beach to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago