News Brief11:16 AM

(IsraelNN.com) American President George W. Bush arrived at Ben Gurion Airport a few minutes ago and is now being greeted by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik (Kadima). After short ceremonial speeches, he will fly by helicopter to Jerusalem and later will address the Facing Tomorrow Presidential Conference.

The visit is the President's second this year, a rare occurrence in which he travels to the same country twice in a short period of time. Unlike his previous visit, he will not travel to the Palestinian Authority (PA). PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas has called on others to boycott the President because of his joining in celebrations of Israel's 60th anniversary as modern state, which Arabs term a "catastrophe."