19 Dec 2019; MEMO: Prince Charles is scheduled to visit the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel for the first time in January, Clarence House announced in a statement yesterday.
On behalf of the British government, the Prince of Wales will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, where the heir to the throne will “undertake engagements”.
His five-day trip will begin in Amman, the capital of Jordan, at the end of January and end in Jerusalem.
Commenting on the announcement the British Consul General, Philip Hall OBE, said: “I am delighted that The Prince of Wales has accepted President Abbas’ invitation to visit in the New Year.”
“This visit will build on Prince William’s visit last year and allow The Prince to add to the many warm and longstanding relationships he enjoys across the Arab world.”
The Prince of Wales is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and first in line to the throne.
He has also been invited to join delegates attending the World Holocaust Forum during his planned late January visit by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin.
It was also mentioned that he will not be accompanied by his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, but will attend a service with 200 Holocaust survivors at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland on 27 January in honour of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Along with dozens of other world leaders, Charles will attend the Fifth World Holocaust Forum on 23 January, while in Israel.
So far, confirmed participants include the presidents of Russia, France, Germany, Italy and Austria, as well as the kings of Spain and Belgium, and many other senior dignitaries.
Charles last visited Jerusalem in 2016 to attend the funeral of former President Shimon Peres on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. He also represented the queen in 1995 at the funeral of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Last year, Prince William, Charles’ son, made a visit to the West Bank and Israel during a tour of the Middle East, in which he visited the Dome of the Rock, the Al-Aqsa mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall and addressed both Israelis and Palestinians in separate receptions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
