Palestinians and Israelis seek boost from Prince William visit amid heightened diplomatic tensions

Palestinians and Israelis are both looking for a much needed boost from Prince William’s impending Middle East trip, amid heightened tensions over recent clashes on the Gaza border and the controversial move of the US embassy to Jerusalem.

The five day visit, which begins in Jordan on Sunday, is being described by Kensington Palace as “non-political”, although on the Israel leg the trip includes a meeting in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and on the Palestinian part a session in Ramallah with President Mahmoud Abbas. It is the first official visit by a British royal to Israel and the Palestinian territories on behalf of the UK government.

It is clear the Duke of Cambridge will have to walk a political tightrope, whatever royal officials say, with the visit coming at a political low point for Palestinians, who see the embassy move, and Israel’s intimate relationship with the Trump administration, as a blow to their aspirations to establish a Palestinian state.

“We hope this visit will lead to a greater understanding of the Palestinian reality, and the nature of the oppression of the occupation and the urgency of ending this extremely cruel and unjust situation,” Palestine Liberation Organisation executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi, who will be meeting the Duke of Cambridge, told The Independent. “Basically, the aim is to reach out for greater understanding and more human, cultural and historic ties.”

“We don’t expect it to be political or politicised, even if Israel tries to exploit it, because the royal family’s position has always been against the occupation and for the establishment of a just peace, and we are sure they will maintain this position,” she added.

A statement from Kensington Palace said that besides meeting Mr Abbas, Prince William’s programme in the occupied West Bank will include “events that focus on the issues facing refugee communities, opportunities to celebrate Palestinian culture, music and food, and a chance to meet a number of young Palestinians.” In Jordan, the prince will focus on developing a bond with Crown Prince Al-Hussein Bin Abdullah II and will meet Syrian refugees. In Israel, his first stop will be the Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center. He will also meet young activists involved in Jewish-Arab coexistence in Jaffa, and view a high tech innovation demonstration in Tel Aviv.

The Palestinians are satisfied that Prince William’s itinerary refers to East Jerusalem as being part of the occupied Palestinian territories, although this touched off an angry reaction from the Israeli minister responsible for Jerusalem affairs, Zeev Elkin. The itinerary specifies that Prince William will be briefed on the history and geography of the walled Old City from a vantage point on the Mount of Olives, and that he will have a chance “to understand and pay respect to the religions and history of the region”.

Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 war and then annexed it, a move which the UN considers a violation of international law. With the American embassy move, Israel hopes international opposition to the annexation is starting to crumble. So Britain’s stance is now taking on heightened importance for Palestinians.“What the royal family and the UK are doing is just acknowledging a fact of legality and of rights,” Ms Ashrawi said.

However, the trip has come under fire from Jerusalem deputy mayor Dov Kalmanovich for not including a meeting with local municipality representatives or the mayor, Nir Barkat, who is a backer of Jewish settlement in Arab neighbourhoods of the city. A spokeswoman for the UK embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed there would be no such meeting, but declined to specify why.

Mr Kalmanovich, from the hard-right Jewish Home party, told The Independent: “I’m very surprised that a personage from the royal family comes and can’t find the time to meet with representatives of the municipality. Such a meeting could take place in the east or west part of the city.”

“We very much like the prince but he shouldn’t slip on politics, and it’s a shame that with these things he will cause residents of Jerusalem not to appreciate him,” Mr Kalmanovich said. Referring to British rule before Israeli statehood, Mr Kalmanovich added: “They seem to think we are in the British mandate when Britain ruled and allocated land to whomever it wanted. There is a sovereign state here and we don’t live according to the categories of the British mandate.”

Prince William can expect a warmer reception from other Israelis. At Yad Vashem one of the people he is scheduled to meet is Henry Foner, 86, who as a six-year-old was one of some 10,000 Jewish children saved from the Holocaust by the kindertransport. That was an organised effort which began before the Second World War to spirit youngsters out of Germany, Austria and other countries to safety in the UK.

Mr Foner, a Berlin native known then as Heinz Lichtwitz, was taken in by a Jewish family in Swansea and went on to serve in the British army in Egypt and Sudan. He also worked as a food chemist for the city of Leeds. He moved to Israel in 1968. His father Max Lichtwitz, a lawyer, was gassed in Auschwitz in 1942.

“I’m really excited” about the meeting, Mr Foner said. “I’ve got a lot of criticism about UK policies here and there but they saved my life, and if I can meet someone like Prince William and tell him thank you, not to the monarchy but to the whole set up of Great Britain, I’m really happy to do that.”

“I think the monarchy is a great thing for the UK,” Mr Foner added. “I don’t think you can construct something like that now. But if it’s there, it’s a central core thing to which people can relate.”

Although it is the first official trip and the most extensive, It is not the first visit of a British royal to the Holy Land. Prince Philip visited in 1994 for an award ceremony at Yad Vashem in recognition of his mother, Princess Alice, sheltering a Jewish family in Athens during the Second World War. Prince Charles also attended the funeral of assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 and that of former president Shimon Peres in 2016.