Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince William will visit Jerusalem and Ramallah when he becomes the first senior member of Britain’s royal family to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories next month.
William, second-in-line to the British throne, will begin his trip to the Middle East in Jordan on June 24 before travelling to Tel Aviv the following day, Kensington Palace said in a statement.
The prince will spend the next three days in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Ramallah in the West Bank, although the palace gave no further details of where he will go or who he will meet.
The trip, which William is carrying out on behalf of the British government, was announced in March and was widely welcomed then by both Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Britain regards Israel as a close and important ally but the visit comes at a time when the two countries have publicly disagreed over a number of major issues.
Like most of its Western allies, the British government criticised US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv earlier this month.
Dozens of Palestinian protesters were shot dead in subsequent protests at the Gaza border which Prime Minister Theresa May described as “concerning” and called for Israeli restraint.