HISTORIC MIDEAST TRIP: OBAMA’S $1.5M LIMO BREAKS DOWN IN ISRAEL •AFTER HIS DRIVER PUTS PETROL IN ENGINE INSTEAD OF DIESEL

President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Israel on Wednesday had an embarrassing setback when his armored limousine broke down on the way to the airport.

The custom General Motors Cadillac limo was relegated to a pick up truck after the driver accidentally put gas (petrol) in the engine instead of diesel.
Mr Obama arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon local time, and earlier that morning, the limo that was designated to his hotel was unable to move after the driver made the silly mistake.

Local news reports alleged that it was the President’s limo that was shipped over specially from Washington that broke down so he was forced to use the second vehicle that they brought over from the U.S.

Since the car was not able to take him from the airport, thankfully Obama was always scheduled to leave the airport via helicopter in order to avoid passing through the Palestinian checkpoints that interrupt the route from Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem.

The United States Secret Service put out a statement about the incident, saying that it was a situation where it pays for them to be prepared.

On his arrival, Obama and his host, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke of the “unbreakable” bond between their two countries, after the president arrived in Israel on Wednesday.

During his first state trip to the country, Obama is expected to discuss Iran’s disputed nuclear programme and the crisis in Syria with Israeli leaders.
On Thursday, the president will meet Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, where he can expect a mixed reception.

Obama was met at Tel Aviv’s airport on Wednesday morning by Netanyahu and Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, a military band and a host of other officials and dignitaries.

“Good to see you … it’s good to get away from Congress,” Obama told Netanyahu, who laughed. Obama told Peres “good to see you, brother” and after they reviewed an honor guard of troops, the two presidents hugged each other and smiled.

All three men gave speeches that emphasised the friendship between the U.S. and Israel – Netanyahu spoke of the “unbreakable alliance,” Obama the “unbreakable bond.”

Obama, who began his speech with “shalom,” said he was “confident in declaring that our alliance is eternal.”

“The United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend,” he said.

He said it was not an accident that he had made the first overseas trip of his second term in office to Israel.

“Across this region, the winds of change bring both promise and peril,” Obama said, likely a reference to the Arab Spring uprisings that saw an Islamist president voted into power in Egypt and a civil war erupt in Syria.

In his speech, Netanyahu thanked Obama for “standing by Israel at this time of historic change in the Middle East.”

“We deeply appreciate your friendship and we share your hope that the Middle East will enjoy a future of freedom, prosperity and peace,” he added.

Picking up on comments Obama made before the trip expressing the desire to put on a disguise and go to a Tel Aviv bar Netanyahu joked that he had lined up a few locations and “even picked out a fake mustache for you.”

Obama will on Tuesday view an “Iron Dome” air defense missile launcher, a U.S.-funded system, which has helped protect Israelis from Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza.

Obama was scheduled to hold formal meetings with Netanyahu later on Wednesday before the pair who have not always seen eye to eye have a private dinner at Netanyahu’s home in the evening.

Netanyahu is expected to attempt to get Obama to agree to define a “red line” for Iran -- the point in its nuclear development at which military action would be taken to stop it from getting an atom bomb. Last week, Peres described Iran as “the greatest threat to peace in the world.”

Israel also worries that Islamist factions among the rebels fighting Syria’s Bashar Assad could seize control of the buffer zone between the two countries from the United Nations and threaten Israel with chemical weapons and long-range rockets captured from the regime.

Source: Tribune