JERUSALEM, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Israel was preparing Sunday for the arrival of Britain's Prince William in Israel a day later, the first visit by a British royal to Israel and Palestinian territories.
The visit to the Middle East, deemed as the prince's most challenging diplomatic trip, began on Sunday in Jordan.
The Duke of Cambridge is expected to spend two days in the Hashemite kingdom, during which he is scheduled to meet Jordanian Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II.
On Monday afternoon, he will fly to Israel, where he will stay at Jerusalem's King David Hotel, the historic site of Britain's administrative headquarters in Palestine during its rule in the region before the statehood of Israel in 1948.
A militant Jewish underground group, which fought against the British Mandate, planted a bomb there in 1946, killing 91 people and injuring scores of others.
On Tuesday morning, Prince William will hold a tour in Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, where he will meet two Holocaust survivors.
Later in the day, he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, after which he will meet Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at the presidential residence.
In the afternoon, he will watch a football match between Jewish and Arab children in Jaffa, a coastal city that is part of the Tel Aviv Municipality.
On Wednesday, he will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He will also meet Palestinian refugees and youths.
His visit comes as Israel celebrates the 70th anniversary of its establishment, and amidst escalating tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Last week, Palestinians from the Gaza Strip launched mortars and rockets at southern Israel, Israel responded with airstrikes on military positions in Gaza.
Israel has extended several invitations to British royals but none has accepted the offer, until now.
Prince Charles has visited Israel twice, for the funeral of the assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the late President Shimon Peres. Buckingham Palace and the British government stressed those were private visits.
The British government objects the expansion of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.?
