Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, will visit Jerusalem and Ramallah next month, becoming the first senior member of Britain's royal family to make an official state visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
William, second in line to the British throne after his father, Prince Charles, will begin his Middle East trip in Jordan on June 24 before traveling to Tel Aviv the following day, his office in Kensington Palace said in a statement Friday.
The prince will spend the next three days in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Ramallah. The palace gave no further details of where he will go or whom he will meet.
The trip, which William is carrying out on behalf of the British government, was widely welcomed by both Israeli and Palestinian officials when it was announced in March.
"It is a historic visit, the first of its kind, and he will be received here with great enthusiasm," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' office said it was an important visit, "which we hope will contribute to strengthening ties of friendship between the two peoples."
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 criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv earlier this month.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has also described as "concerning" the deaths of dozens of Palestinian rioters on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip in recent weeks and called for Israeli restraint.
The governments were also at odds over Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a move lauded by Israel while Britain pledged to maintain the agreement.
Despite their differences, the British government has adopted a more positive approach to Israel since May became leader. William's trip will be the first official state visit by a senior British royal to Israel, which in April marked its 70th anniversary of independence from British Mandatory rule.
Queen Elizabeth's cousins the Duke of Kent and the Duke of Gloucester made unofficial visits to Israel in 1998 and 2007, while Prince Charles attended the funerals of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 and former President Shimon Peres in 2016.
