LONDON -- The Duke of Cambridge closes out his trip to the Middle East with a visit to Jerusalem's Old City Thursday. Prince William started his day in East Jerusalem, which is occupied by Israel, on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the walled Old City. Then, in the most personal and emotional stop of the day, he visited his great-grandmother's tomb. Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg and Greece was honored by Israel for sheltering Jews in Greece during World War II, and was later buried in a crypt in the Church of Mary Magdalene, the Russian Orthodox Church on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. Father Archimandrite Roman, the head of the Russian Orthodox mission in Jerusalem, presented the prince with gifts: for him, a wooden cross from the 19th century, a glass royal Easter egg for Kate and wooden Easter eggs and small wooden crosses for his three children, “so that each of them can have a cross from Jerusalem in their room,” the priest said, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. He then visited al Haram al Sharif, or the Temple Mount, which houses Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It's the third holiest site in Islam and he was hosted by Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Islamic Waqf, which administers al Haram al Sharif. He then walked below the compound to the Western Wall, accompanied by Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch. And, finally, he accompanied religious leaders at the Church of the Holy Selpulchre. The prince's official itinerary lists Jerusalem as part of the "Occupied Palestinian Territories," frustrating Israeli officials. Israeli officials have long expressed frustration with the British royals for not making official visits to the country despite several unofficial and more private visits. But now that the visit is finally happening, Israeli officials are concerned about the palace's language, especially after U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. William, 36, thanked Palestinians Wednesday night for the warm welcome during the second half of his trip. "I am also struck by how many people in the region want a just and lasting peace." he said. "It has been a very powerful experience to meet you and other Palestinians living in the West Bank, and to hear your stories. 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 will grow stronger." William added: "The United Kingdom stands with you, as we work together for a peaceful and prosperous future."<doc-sep>Although he did not speak during his morning tour of Jerusalem’s Old City, William was clearly moved at each of the holy sites. After visiting the gravesite of Princess Alice, his paternal grandfather’s mother, who is buried in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene above the Garden of Gethsemane, the prince made his way to the Noble Sanctuary, or Haram al-Sharif, the raised esplanade that houses Islam’s third-holiest site, the al-Aqsa Mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock. The compound is known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount.<doc-sep>On his last day in the city of gold, Prince William let his feet do the talking. He smiled, kneeled, prayed, lit candles, bowed his head in the three holiest sites in Jerusalem’s Old City – the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He smiled, kneeled, prayed, lit candles, bowed his head in the three holiest sites in Jerusalem’s Old City – the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. But he issued no public statement, beyond a smile and a nod. But he issued no public statement, beyond a smile and a nod. At the Western Wall, he donned a skullcap, placed his hand on the wall and a note in its crevices. At the Western Wall, he donned a skullcap, placed his hand on the wall and a note in its crevices. Then he left a blessing in the Western Heritage Foundation guestbook: “May the God of peace bless this region and all the world with peace.” Then he left a blessing in the Western Heritage Foundation guestbook: “May the God of peace bless this region and all the world with peace.” The tall prince, the first royal to make an official visit to Israel and the first ever visit to the Palestinian territories, was easy to spot in his light tan suit and slightly balding head. The tall prince, the first royal to make an official visit to Israel and the first ever visit to the Palestinian territories, was easy to spot in his light tan suit and slightly balding head. His choice to tread on two of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, also known as the al-Haram al-Sharif – was strictly embargoed until just before his arrival. His choice to tread on two of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, also known as the al-Haram al-Sharif – was strictly embargoed until just before his arrival. cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); }); if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";} Journalists who had been forewarned tried to mob him, but startled tourists, including a British bar mitzva boy who was in the middle of reading the Torah, had not realized they were sharing the sites with royalty. Journalists who had been forewarned tried to mob him, but startled tourists, including a British bar mitzva boy who was in the middle of reading the Torah, had not realized they were sharing the sites with royalty. At the church, sitting on the stairs wearing necklace with a cross, Annie Kara from California squealed as she heard of his arrival. “I am super excited the prince is visiting the Old City and is about to come through these steps,” Kara said. At the church, sitting on the stairs wearing necklace with a cross, Annie Kara from California squealed as she heard of his arrival.“I am super excited the prince is visiting the Old City and is about to come through these steps,” Kara said. “We’re pleased and surprised,” said Terry Charalambous from Australia just before the Duke of Cambridge passed. “We’re pleased and surprised,” said Terry Charalambous from Australia just before the Duke of Cambridge passed. Annie Kara from California waits to catch a lumps of Prince William pic.twitter.com/NsCpk1xhIt June 28, 2018 Terry Charalambous of Australia was surprised but excited to learn Prince William is about to pass by pic.twitter.com/Qig23fVG3C June 28, 2018 Prince William tours the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's old City The prince began his morning at a viewpoint of the Mount of Olives, before heading to the Church of Mary Magdalene and to its Garden of Gethsemane, where his great-grandmother Princess Alice is buried. Prince William laid a wreath of flowers at her grave, which is covered in a white cloth, and lit a candle.A devout Christian, she died in London in 1969 and had asked to be buried in Jerusalem.It was the end of a three-day trip, that included visits with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.He hit the Tel Aviv beach front and met with Eurovision star Netta Barzilai, although no chicken dance ensued. He stopped at a soccer game with Jewish and Arab children.Near Ramallah, he visited the Jelazoun refugee camp. He also watched a Palestinian dance troupe and listened to a young man sing a song “Ya Watani” – “Oh My Homeland” – made popular by the Lebanese singer Fairouz.He tasted traditional local dishes such as falafel, shwarma and knafeh and kicked a football with local boys and girls, receiving soccer shirts bearing the names of his children.His trip, made on Israel’s 70th anniversary, was billed as more of a cultural visit, but was rife with overtones of the conflict, particularly given that from the end of World War II and up to the War of Independence, Great Britain controlled what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories.The careful choreography of the trip, in which the Tel Aviv embassy handled west Jerusalem visits and the Jerusalem consulate dealt with the Old City and east Jerusalem visits, raised eyebrows among Israelis.The British consulate’s statement before the prince’s visit referred to east Jerusalem as occupied Palestine, upsetting many.He also angered Palestinians by refusing to apologize for his country’s role in the Balfour Declaration, which laid the foundation for the modern state of Israel.When speaking at the consulate on Wednesday night, Prince William said: “This region has a complicated and tragic history. In the past century, the people of the Middle East have suffered great sadness and loss. Never has hope and reconciliation been more needed. I know I share a desire with all of you, and with your neighbors, for a just and lasting peace.”And just like that, he was off.“Until we meet again, Prince Charming,” the British Embassy tweeted in Hebrew as William’s plane taxied for departure from Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport.Reuters contributed to the report.<doc-sep>
By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William toured Jerusalem's most sacred and sensitive sites on Thursday, wrapping up a politically delicate visit that both Palestinians and Israelis, locked in a lengthy conflict, were able to embrace. Assuring Palestinians they had not been forgotten and ending what Israelis had seen as an undeclared British boycott of official visits to their country by the royal family, William made no evident missteps in following an itinerary carefully scripted for balance. Billed as non-political, the four-day tour of Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories was an opportunity to show goodwill and voice hopes for peace in areas Britain ruled from 1917 to 1948, the year of Israel's creation. Embarking on a visit of Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy places in Jerusalem, William shook hands with clerics and then entered Islam's Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque. They are on a site revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount, where Biblical temples once stood. Minutes later, accompanied by Jewish rabbis, William approached the Western Wall, at the foot of the sacred hilltop, through a passage formed by police barricades that held back a crowd of onlookers. Wearing a skullcap and following a Jewish tradition of offering a written prayer at the wall, he placed a note between its stones, rested the palm of one hand against them and leaned forward in silent reflection. Separately, he wrote in the Western Wall's official guest book: "May the God of peace bless this region and all the world with peace." William then visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, another popular stop for pilgrims and where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried. The holy sites he toured are in East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that has not won international recognition. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they seek in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Story continues William's trip, undertaken at the behest of the British government, was the first official visit by a senior member of Britain's royal family to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Until now it had been British policy not to make an official royal visit until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was resolved. Britain gave no detailed explanation for the change of tack, which coincided with Israel's 70th anniversary. GREAT-GRANDMOTHER Before visiting the shrines, William - second in line to the throne - made a pilgrimage to the Jerusalem tomb of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice, who was honoured by Israel for sheltering Jews in her palace in Nazi-occupied Greece during the Holocaust. Princess Alice of Battenberg and Greece, who was Queen Elizabeth's mother-in-law, is buried in a crypt in the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem's Old City. A devout Christian, she died in London in 1969 and had asked to be buried in Jerusalem. In a visit on Wednesday to the West Bank, William met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and toured a refugee camp, on a day that also took him to the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu hosted William at the prime minister's residence on Tuesday. At a gathering of Palestinian civil society, business and religious leaders in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the prince spoke of the "very powerful experience" of meeting Palestinians in the West Bank. "My message tonight is that you have not been forgotten," he said." However, one Palestinian outside a clinic William visited voiced anger at the legacy of Britain's colonial-era involvement in the Holy Land, citing the 1917 Balfour Declaration. In the document, the British government expressed its support for "a national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. There was also grumbling from an Israeli right-wing legislator after a British statement on William's visit listed Jerusalem as being inside occupied Palestinian territory. "Until we meet again, Prince Charming," the British Embassy tweeted in Hebrew as William's plane taxied for departure from Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport. (Additional reporting by Dan Williams, Stephen Farrell and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Gareth Jones)