Britain’s Prince William found himself on diplomatic thin ice during a visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday when he called the Palestinian territories a “country”.
Meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the prince appeared to fall foul of the complex language surrounding the Middle East conflict.
“Thank you for welcoming me, and I am very glad that our two countries work so closely together and have had success stories with education and relief work in the past,” he told Mr Abbas, speaking without notes.
Western countries typically refrain from referring to the Palestinian territories as a country or state, instead supporting the Palestinian demand for sovereignty in the future – the so-called two-state solution.
And while Palestine has observer status at the United Nations, it is not a fully recognised member state.
Read the report in The Australian (AFP).