Prince William arrived in Israel on Monday, the second day of his five-day tour of the still-tense Middle East region, to display his charm and diplomatic skills during his first official visit to Israel. the Jewish state.

Kensington Palace posted a tweet showing the Duke of Cambridge, second in line on the throne, arriving in Tel-Aviv and noting the historic nature of his visit, a first not only for Israel but also for the Palestinian Territories.

"Prince William arrives in Israel, during the first official visit of an important member of the royal family," reads in the tweet.

The prince, who visits the region to represent his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II and at the request of the British Foreign Office, must spend time in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank. the "occupied Palestinian territories".

William is scheduled to meet separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

On this photo posted on Twitter by Kensington Palace, Prince William and Jordanian Crown Prince Husseinwatch, a resumption of the World Cup match against Panama that the heir to the Jordanian throne had recorded earlier, at the Beit Al Urdun Palace in Amman, June 25, 2018. (Photo: Kensington Palace / Twitter / AP)

The Israelis, who celebrate the year of the 70th anniversary of their country's independence, have long advocated for British governments to send a high-ranking king to strengthen his position in the world. Until now, government ministers had declined because of political and diplomatic sensitivities.

The prince, aged 36, spent Sunday in Jordan, where he visited Jerash, the Roman archaeological ruins where his wife, Duchess Kate of Cambridge, visited when her family lived in the Hashemite Kingdom in the 1980s.

The Jordanians have placed an enlargement of Kate's photo, with little sister Pippa Middleton and Father Michael Middleton, at the point where a photo was taken of the trio.

Under a radiant sun and dressed in a casual jacket, a shirt, pants and sunglasses, William recreated the photo standing in the same place as his wife.

Duchess Kate stayed at home with the three children of the couple, including baby Prince Louis, born in April (to be baptized on July 9 at the Royal Chapel of St James Palace in London).

At a reception at the British Ambassador at Jordan's residence in Amman, he told the guests that Kate was disappointed that she could not make the trip.

"She loved it here, she really did, she is very sorry that I come here without her," he said, according to British media reports.

Prince William and Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan pass in front of an enlarged photo of his wife, Duchess Kate of Cambridge, while she was a child with her father and sister during their visits to the archaeological ruins of Jerash on 25 June 2018 in Amman, Jordan. (Photo: Ian VOgler / Pool / Getty Images)

Accompanied by the 23-year-old Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein, William was also able to see – on a giant television screen at the Beit Al Urdun Palace in Amman – a resumption of the World Cup match against Panama, heir to the Jordanian throne (son of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania) had usefully recorded earlier.

The Daily Mail reported that Will jokingly warned the photographers who accompanied him not to tell him the score or who had won the match (that was England).

Later in the trip, William must visit Yad Vashem – the official Israeli memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust – and also see the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, before going to the church. of St. Mary Magdalene where he will pay his respects at the grave of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice.

William's father, Prince Charles the Prince of Wales, 69, and his grandfather, Prince Philip of Edinburgh, 97, both made private tours to Israel to attend funerals and visit the falls of Princess Alice. (She was the mother of Prince Philip, born a German princess and descendant of Queen Victoria who married Philip's father, Prince Andrew of the exiled Greek royal family.)

Prior to the trip, the official reporters at Kensington Palace said that the prince considered "a great privilege" to perform the first official royal visit of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and "to be able to help further strengthen the friendship between Jordan and the United Kingdom. "

Among other things, his schedule in the region is designed to meet young Jordanians, Israelis and Palestinians of his own generation.

"His Royal Highness is eager to learn their unique perspectives, but also their common ambitions and hopes for the future," the palace said in a statement.

While Prince William continued his tour, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East advisor, Jared Kushner, spent a week in the region meeting with leaders of Israel, Jordan, Qatar, from Egypt and from Saudi Arabia. the worsening of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the proposals of the administration for a peace agreement.

Kushner said in an interview published Sunday in the Arabic-language newspaper Al-Quds that the administration would soon submit its Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, with or without the participation of Palestinian President Abbas. Kushner appealed directly to the Palestinians and criticized Abbas, who shunned the Trump team on its pro-Israel bias, particularly on the fate of the Jerusalem protest.

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