Prince William to Palestinians: ‘You Have Not Been Forgotten’

(AP) Prince William, paying the first official British royal visit to the Palestinian Authority territories on Wednesday, told Palestinians they had not been forgotten and his trip to the West Bank was a “very powerful one”.

“My message tonight is that you have not been forgotten, it has been a very powerful experience to meet you and other Palestinians in the West Bank and to hear your stories,” the prince said in a speech at a garden party at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem.

“I hope that through my being here and understanding the challenges you face, the links of friendship and mutual respect between the Palestinian and British people can grow stronger.”

The prince traveled to the West Bank on Wednesday, spreading a message of peace as he met with the Palestinian Authority president and toured a Palestinian refugee camp.

The Duke of Cambridge was welcomed by an honor guard as he turned his attention to the Palestinians on the second day of his swing through the Holy Land. It is the first official visit to the area by a member of the royal family.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Abbas appealed to the prince and the British people to support the Palestinian campaign for independence.

William, trying to steer clear of politics, praised what he called the close ties between Britain and the Palestinians.

“I’m very glad that our two countries work so closely together and have had success stories with education and relief work,” he said. “My sentiments are the same as yours in hoping that there is a lasting peace in the region.”

William continued to the nearby Jalazoun refugee camp, where he met with Palestinian youths, ate hummus and other local dishes and visited a school and a clinic. Footage showed William wearing sunglasses as he sat watching a traditional Arab folk dance.

Though William’s trip is being billed as non-political, he is meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and visiting sites at the heart of the century-old conflict.

The Kensington Palace’s Twitter account posted a photo of the prince posing with scouts, looking on as a girl in a hijab kicked a soccer ball and sitting with girls at the school.

Earlier Wednesday, William began the day by strolling down Tel Aviv’s trendy Rothschild Boulevard and meeting young artists and entrepreneurs in Israel’s cultural and financial capital.

Wearing a beige summer blazer, light blue shirt, blue pants and brown suede loafers, he met Netta Barzilai, winner of this year’s Eurovision song contest, and had a cold drink at one of the famous kiosks along the boulevard named after the late 19th-century British-Jewish banker and philanthropist who contributed greatly to the Jewish community in the Holy Land.

Thousands of onlookers gathered behind police barriers to catch a glimpse of the prince, with some shouting “we love William” toward the second in line to the throne.

The prince casually smiled and waved before attending a cultural event on the rooftop of a museum where he met young people engaged in youth activism, social impact and the environment. There, he lauded Israel for being way ahead of the world in its water recycling and conservation efforts.

“It’s going to be a really big issue for us in the future,” he said. “I think my generation, my children as well, there’s a legacy here … we need to tidy up a bit.”

On Tuesday, he attended a soccer match of young Jewish and Arab players and hit the beach before going to the reception the British ambassador held in his honor that included demonstrations by Israeli tech startups and a collection of Israeli celebrities, politicians and other public figures.

At the reception, Israeli model Bar Refaeli described William as “the best-looking prince in the world”.

Jonathan Weiss, a tour guide who accompanied the prince on Wednesday, said William was impressed by how youthful the city is and “what a great vibe” it has and said that the next “time he comes, he plans to bring his swimming trunks.”

Three decades of British rule between the two world wars helped establish some of the fault lines of today’s Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Britain’s withdrawal in 1948 led to the eventual establishment of Israel and Jordan, where the prince kicked off the five-day Mideast tour on Sunday.