NYT: Prince William will go to Israel, in first official visit by a British royal

Seventy years after David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the independence of the state of Israel and an end to the British Mandate in Palestine, Israel will for the first time host an official visit by a member of the British royal family when Prince William travels there this summer, it was announced on Thursday.

The lack of a formal visit has long been a sore point for many Israelis. Some had interpreted it as a snub — a denial of recognition of the legitimacy of Israel — or, perhaps, the result of fear of harming British business interests in Arab countries.