Jalazone Camp, West Bank: Prince William paid the first official British royal visit to the Palestinian Territories on Wednesday, touring a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and voicing hope for peace in a meeting with the Palestinian President.
William, second in line to the throne, received a red-carpet welcome to the Muqata, the Palestinian government headquarters in the city of Ramallah, that included an honour guard and band.
William told Palestinians they have not been forgotten and that the “UK stands with you”, and called for “lasting peace for the region”, as he visited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Saying hopes for peace and security were not “extravagant aspirations”, William told guests at a garden party that he wished his visit to shine a light on the friendship between the Palestinian and British people.
“My message tonight is that you have not been forgotten,” he said. “The United Kingdom stands with you, as we work together for a peaceful and prosperous future.”
“I’m very glad our two countries work so closely together and have had success stories with education and relief work in the past, so, long may that continue,” William told Abbas during their meeting.
William then visited Jalazone refugee camp, its health clinic and a school, administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Read the article by Stephen Farrell in The Sydney Morning Herald.