Prince William is to make the first official royal visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in a five-day tour of the Middle East.
The Duke of Cambridge is scheduled to meet both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
He will begin his trip in Jordan on Sunday, meeting Jordanian Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II.
Kensington Palace said the "historic nature" of the tour was "important".
Prince William makes historic visit to Middle East
BBC News
24 June 2018
Prince William is to make the first official royal visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in a five-day tour of the Middle East.
The Duke of Cambridge is scheduled to meet both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
He will begin his trip in Jordan on Sunday, meeting Jordanian Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II.
Kensington Palace said the "historic nature" of the tour was "important".
The trip comes as Israel celebrates the 70th anniversary of its foundation, and amid a rise in tensions between Palestinians and Israelis.
Israeli forces launched air strikes on Palestinian militant positions in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after rockets and mortars were fired into Israel.
Prince William is expected to visit Jerusalem's Old City
During his visit to Israel, the Duke of Cambridge will visit the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre and lay a wreath where ashes of victims of the Holocaust are buried.
He is expected to visit Jerusalem's Old City and the grave of Princess Alice of Greece, his great-grandmother and the Duke of Edinburgh's mother.
Prince Phillip visited the grave in 1994 when a ceremony honoured her for saving Greek Jews during the Second World War.
The duke will visit Ramallah in the West Bank, where he will focus on issues facing refugee communities, as well as meeting Mr Abbas.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "The historic nature of this tour is of course important and the duke considers it a great privilege to be undertaking the first ever official royal tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories, and to be able to help further strengthen the friendship between Jordan and the United Kingdom."
'The prince wanders among the bones of Empire'
By Jonny Dymond, royal correspondent
The itinerary is scrupulously balanced between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories
The Duke of Cambridge is embarking upon an historic tour of the Middle East - visiting both Israel and the Palestinian territories - in a trip in which ironies and sensitivities will abound.
The Royal Family is keenly aware of its own history. Prince William is this week visiting a region that rarely forgets its past.
When Palestine slipped from the hands of an exhausted and broken post-war Britain in 1948, the Prince's great-grandfather George VI was on the throne.
There has been no official royal visit since then, though Prince Philip and Prince Charles have been to pay respects at the grave in Jerusalem of Prince Philip's mother, Alice.
Jerusalem hotel
For just under three decades, after World War One, Britain controlled present-day Jordan, Israel and the occupied territories; three decades that would see the Middle East reshaped by European design, compromise, and failure.
When Prince William lays his head this week at his Jerusalem hotel, the King David, he will be at the site of one of the worst attacks on British forces during the Jews' battle for independence. It was an attack condemned at the time as Jewish terrorism.
When he meets Jordanian Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II he will shake hands with the Hashemite dynasty that Britain placed at the head of the newly-created territory of Transjordan in 1921.
For the British government, it's a chance to highlight relationships that aren't about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians
From the Balfour Declaration to the White Paper, the promises and pledges that Britain has made to different parties at different times in Palestine are now part of the region's collective memory.
It's up for debate quite how important the trip is. For Prince William, it's important to get right. There will be speeches, carefully drafted by the Foreign Office, vetted further by civil servants and advisers.
The itinerary is scrupulously balanced between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. And beyond the mandatory meetings and locations, it leans heavily towards youth and tech, with a whirl of religious sites at the end.
For Israelis, a royal visit is what's been missing from British-Israeli relations. That doesn't mean 10-deep crowds but it is one of those things that just hasn't happened in 70 years. And people wondered why.
And for the British government, it's a chance to highlight relationships that aren't about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
As to timing, British officials swear blind it has nothing to do with this year's 70th anniversary of Israel's creation. No one can quite explain why it had to be this year. But the visit and the anniversary are, we are told, simply coincidence.
A busy time awaits Prince William, and the odd potential pitfall, as he wanders among the bones of Empire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44576581
The Duke of Cambridge is scheduled to meet both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
He will begin his trip in Jordan on Sunday, meeting Jordanian Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II.
Kensington Palace said the "historic nature" of the tour was "important".
Prince William makes historic visit to Middle East
BBC News
24 June 2018
Prince William is to make the first official royal visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in a five-day tour of the Middle East.
The Duke of Cambridge is scheduled to meet both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
He will begin his trip in Jordan on Sunday, meeting Jordanian Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II.
Kensington Palace said the "historic nature" of the tour was "important".
The trip comes as Israel celebrates the 70th anniversary of its foundation, and amid a rise in tensions between Palestinians and Israelis.
Israeli forces launched air strikes on Palestinian militant positions in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after rockets and mortars were fired into Israel.
Prince William is expected to visit Jerusalem's Old City
During his visit to Israel, the Duke of Cambridge will visit the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre and lay a wreath where ashes of victims of the Holocaust are buried.
He is expected to visit Jerusalem's Old City and the grave of Princess Alice of Greece, his great-grandmother and the Duke of Edinburgh's mother.
Prince Phillip visited the grave in 1994 when a ceremony honoured her for saving Greek Jews during the Second World War.
The duke will visit Ramallah in the West Bank, where he will focus on issues facing refugee communities, as well as meeting Mr Abbas.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "The historic nature of this tour is of course important and the duke considers it a great privilege to be undertaking the first ever official royal tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories, and to be able to help further strengthen the friendship between Jordan and the United Kingdom."
'The prince wanders among the bones of Empire'
By Jonny Dymond, royal correspondent
The itinerary is scrupulously balanced between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories
The Duke of Cambridge is embarking upon an historic tour of the Middle East - visiting both Israel and the Palestinian territories - in a trip in which ironies and sensitivities will abound.
The Royal Family is keenly aware of its own history. Prince William is this week visiting a region that rarely forgets its past.
When Palestine slipped from the hands of an exhausted and broken post-war Britain in 1948, the Prince's great-grandfather George VI was on the throne.
There has been no official royal visit since then, though Prince Philip and Prince Charles have been to pay respects at the grave in Jerusalem of Prince Philip's mother, Alice.
Jerusalem hotel
For just under three decades, after World War One, Britain controlled present-day Jordan, Israel and the occupied territories; three decades that would see the Middle East reshaped by European design, compromise, and failure.
When Prince William lays his head this week at his Jerusalem hotel, the King David, he will be at the site of one of the worst attacks on British forces during the Jews' battle for independence. It was an attack condemned at the time as Jewish terrorism.
When he meets Jordanian Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II he will shake hands with the Hashemite dynasty that Britain placed at the head of the newly-created territory of Transjordan in 1921.
For the British government, it's a chance to highlight relationships that aren't about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians
From the Balfour Declaration to the White Paper, the promises and pledges that Britain has made to different parties at different times in Palestine are now part of the region's collective memory.
It's up for debate quite how important the trip is. For Prince William, it's important to get right. There will be speeches, carefully drafted by the Foreign Office, vetted further by civil servants and advisers.
The itinerary is scrupulously balanced between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. And beyond the mandatory meetings and locations, it leans heavily towards youth and tech, with a whirl of religious sites at the end.
For Israelis, a royal visit is what's been missing from British-Israeli relations. That doesn't mean 10-deep crowds but it is one of those things that just hasn't happened in 70 years. And people wondered why.
And for the British government, it's a chance to highlight relationships that aren't about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
As to timing, British officials swear blind it has nothing to do with this year's 70th anniversary of Israel's creation. No one can quite explain why it had to be this year. But the visit and the anniversary are, we are told, simply coincidence.
A busy time awaits Prince William, and the odd potential pitfall, as he wanders among the bones of Empire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44576581
