Netanyahu corrects UK over royal visit to ‘Occupied Territories’ in Jerusalem
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a veiled rebuke to the United Kingdom Sunday less than 48 hours before Prince William was scheduled to begin the first-ever official visit to Israel by a member of the British royal family, after Kensington Palace listed Jerusalem’s Old City as “Occupied Palestinian Territories” in the itinerary for the trip which will also take in the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.
Prince William
Pic: Twitter
“Jerusalem is our capital for all eternity,” Netanyahu said when asked about Kensington Palace’s declaration by Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin.
Jewish Home MK Bezalel Smotrich went a step further, calling upon Netanyahu to prevent the British royal from visiting the Old City as part of his visit to the Palestinian Authority and as long as the Palace defines it as occupied Palestinian territory.
“I call upon the Prime Minister to prevent in any way the visit of Prince William to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount as part of his visit to the Palestinian Authority. This is the first visit by a member of the British royal family to Israel. The Western Wall and the Temple Mount are under Israeli sovereignty and are the most sacred and important places for the Jewish people. Anyone who wants to visit them will do so as part of their visit to the State of Israel,” Smotrich said.
Prince William is scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday following two days in Jordan. He will meet with Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin before traveling to Ramallah, for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu revealed that Bulgaria would become the latest country to establish a diplomatic representation in the capital.
“Yesterday I spoke with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, and he decided, after his visit, to open an honorary consulate in Jerusalem. I told him that I hope this will be the first step towards the opening of an embassy.”
Politicians come and go but our royal family are for ever.
It appears that the British Establishment has still not forgiven the Jews of The Land of Israel for having been the second nation (after India) to throw off the British imperial yoke, thus beginning the domino effect.