Prince William has taken his first historic steps on Israeli soil, becoming the only member of the British royal family to visit the Jewish state in an official capacity.
His Royal Air Force plane landed at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport at 6.16pm local time and he will now travel on to Jerusalem for a four-day trip that will include a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories.
He was met by Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, British ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey and the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev, before being driven to the King David Hotel in historic Jerusalem.
Prince William will stay at the hotel, once the scene of an horrific terror attack in 1946 by Zionist paramilitary group the Irgun, for the remainder of the trip.
Upon arrival, hotel bosses have instructed staff to make scones, with clotted cream and strawberry jam for the Duke of Cambridge as a welcome gift.
Following a relatively relaxed start to his visit to the Middle East, which included watching England V Panama with Jordan's Crown Prince and a drinks reception last night, William will now begin his historic tour of the West Bank.
The Duke of Cambridge will also meet with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah at a time of widening rifts between the two sides.
On Tuesday the Prince, the second-in-line to the British throne, will visit Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, where he will meet two survivors who escaped Nazi Germany for the safety of Britain.
The memorial has recognized Prince William's great-grandmother, Princess Alice, as Righteous Among the Nations for her role in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust.
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