Prince William met with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday in Ramallah, telling the Palestinian leader he hopes for a “lasting peace” in the region.
“I’m very glad our two countries work so closely together and have had success stories with education and relief work in the past, so long may that continue,” the Duke of Cambridge told Abbas. “My sentiments are the same as yours in hoping that there is a lasting peace in the region.”
Abbas responded, saying “the Palestinian side is committed to the peace process with the Israelis, so both states could live peacefully together within the borders of 1967.”
While in Ramallah, William attended cultural events, a Palestinian school and a health clinic, where learned about UNRWA’s child vaccination program.
He has been on a whirlwind tour of Israel in the last few days.
Earlier on Wednesday, Prince William took a stroll through central Tel Aviv with 2018 Eurovision song-contest winner Netta Barzilai and also met with young Israeli entrepreneurs.
On Tuesday, he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, and also toured the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and memorial in Jerusalem. The prince also visited Tel Aviv, where he played volleyball on the beach and attended a soccer match with Jewish and Arab children in Jaffa.
On Thursday, Prince William is set to visit the Mount of Olives, where his great-grandmother Princess Alice is buried. He will then tour sacred sites in Jerusalem, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall.
Prince William’s visit to Jerusalem has generated a bit of controversy. His official itinerary labeled the Old City of Jerusalem as “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” which some Israeli officials have accused of politicizing the visit. However, British officials dismissed these claims, saying that the terminology is “consistent” with longstanding British policy.
