NATO Summit in The Hague Triggers Unexpected Security and Citywide Disruptions

The Hague is locked down with heavy security for the NATO summit, affecting local businesses and residents.

In the old Gastrobar Berlage outside a famous art museum in The Hague, locals, art enthusiasts, and diplomats enjoy getting together for a meal and a drink. However, as gates began to rise outside as part of extremely strict security around a NATO leaders' meeting that is suffocating the Dutch city in a major military and police operation known as Orange Shield, the typical stream of visitors became a trickle.

For the June 24–25 conference that will include US President Donald Trump and other leaders of the 32-nation alliance, the city that prides itself on hosting international courts and portraying itself as the global hub for justice and peace is turning into a city of unease and insecurity.

The conference comes as global geopolitical tensions increase and unrest deepens in the Middle East. Authorities are blocking roads, closing airspace, and locking down areas of the city in what they describe as the largest security operation ever carried out in the Netherlands.

Delegations will be guarded by military police. There will be frigates patrolling the North Sea, Apache helicopters flying, F-35 fighter jets, and air defense systems on standby. Bomb teams will look for explosives at the location.

Military police escorts will transport leaders in convoys from airports to their lodgings via closed-off roadways. Police and military drones will fly over the summit venue and other places where leaders meet, while civilian drones are prohibited from the area surrounding the summit and other important sites.