Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze'ev Elki accused Britain of 'politicising' the visit saying 'United Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years and no distortion in the tour itinerary can change that reality'
PRINCE William's visit to Israel has ended up in a diplomatic storm after tour organisers suggested Jerusalem's Old City is in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Duke of Cambridge touched down in the Holy Land - on the first ever official royal visit history earlier today.
In a statement to launch the trip Kensington Palace had said a day "in the Occupied Palestinian Territories will begin with a short briefing on the history and geography of Jerusalem's Old City from a viewing point at the Mount of Olives".
This prompted Israel's Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze'ev Elki to accuse Britain of "politicising" the visit.
According to Israeli website Ynet he said: "It is regrettable that in Britain they chose to politicise the royal visit.
"United Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years and no distortion in the tour itinerary can change that reality."
He reportedly criticised organisers when the details of William's trip were first announced two weeks ago.
Kensington Palace declined to comment.
The Duke was welcomed to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport at around 6.15pm local time by Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, British ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey and the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev.
The Prince was then driven to the King David Hotel in historic Jerusalem where hotel bosses say they have ordered him the "finest tea" and "scones, with clotted cream and strawberry jam."
A horrific terror attack that killed 95 people took place at the hotel on July 22, 1946 by Zionist paramilitary group the Irgun.
The blast destroyed the south side of the hotel - which had been used as the central offices of the British Mandatory authorities of Palestine.
The windows at the hotel now have blast and bullet proof glass.
The Director of Operations at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Sheldon Ritz this week told Jewish News that the Prince will take one of the three suites on the top floor, either the Jerusalem Suite, the Royal Suite or the Presidential Suite, which all face the Old City.
The Duke’s Middle East trip will see the him meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin over the next four days.
As part of the hugely significant mission on the behest of the government, William will also meet with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas during a visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The move is likely to be seen as a hugely significant yet potentially controversial moment in the history of the wider region.
Jerusalem Minister Ze’ev Elkin accused the second-in-line to the throne of "politicising" his visit to the region due to his trip to Jerusalem’s Old City - where he is likely to visit the Western Wall - taking place in the "Occupied Palestinian Territories."
In Israel tomorrow William will go Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, where he will lay a wreath to commemorate the millions of Jews who died during the Second World War.
The Duke will also meet a survivor of the Holocaust and is scheduled to meet with Paul Alexander and Henry Foner, two survivors of the Kindertransport, which helped bring thousands of Jewish children from across Europe to Britain before the outbreak of World War II.
He will then go to the Mount of Olives and visit the nearby Church of St Mary Magdalene to pay his respects at the tomb of Princess Alice of Greece, his great-grandmother and the Duke of Edinburgh’s mother.
Prince William visited the ancient Roman ruins in Jordan earlier on in the day, where his wife Kate played and was photographed with her family as a kid.
William came face-to-face with an image of the Duchess of Cambridge during his trip to the Middle East.
It was propped up on an easel at the Roman Ruins of Jerash.
The image surfaced just before the Duchess married Prince William in 2011.
William will be following in the footsteps of Philip during his trip in Israel, who visited his mother’s grave in 1994 when he travelled for a ceremony honouring her for saving Greek Jews during the Second World War. The historic trip comes during a period of tension in the area.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces during recent protests at the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip in the run-up to celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "The historic nature of this tour is of course important and the Duke considers it a great privilege to be undertaking the first ever official royal tour of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
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