Charles, the Prince of Wales
Charles, the Prince of WalesReuters

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales will visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority on behalf of the British Government between January 23rd-24th.

At the invitation of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, the Prince will attend the World Holocaust Forum on January 23rd to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. He will also undertake a program of engagements in Israel. At the invitation of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, the Prince will later visit the Palestinian Authority.

During his time in Israel, Prince Charles will meet President Rivlin at his Official Residence in Jerusalem. The Prince will later attend the World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, where he will join other world leaders in honoring the memory of all those who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Prince Charles is one of a small number of international visitors who have been asked to address the event. The Prince will also lay a wreath on behalf of the United Kingdom.

On Friday, January 24th the Prince will travel to Bethlehem and be received by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and will carry out a number of engagements reflecting Bethlehem’s historic religious significance.

The visit will be the first time that the Prince has undertaken a program of engagements in Israel or the Palestinian Authority.

The embassy communiqué announcing the visit made scrupulous reference to "the Occupied Palestinian Territories" but did not make clear which occupation was being referenced, as venues listed on the itinerary not presently under Israeli sovereignty have been occupied by the Palestinian Authority since the 1995 Oslo Accords.

The Prince of Wales has previously visited Jerusalem twice, once in 2016 and once in 1995 on behalf of the Queen to attend the funeral of President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin respectively.