Paul Calvert spoke with Israelis and Palestinians about their historic and current suffering, and what they hope will happen because of Prince William's visit.
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Firstly he went onto the Temple Mount, which the Bible tells us is where Solomon's Temple once stood. Today stands the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, which are holy for Muslims. It will be important for Muslims to see him go up on the Temple Mount and enter the Dome of the Rock.
Sheikh Azzam led HRH to the Haram (Mosque) and HRH was guided by
Doctor Mustafa Abu Sawai inside the Haram and the Dome of the Rock.
British Muslims will be encouraged to see him there, and
perhaps in the future this will be a starting block for Prince William
to engage with young British Muslims.
Also the Prince's words to the Palestinian people were very moving. He
made a speech yesterday at the residence of the British Consul General
and said:
"My message tonight is that you have not been
forgotten. It has been a very powerful experience to meet you and
other Palestinians living in the West Bank, and to hear your stories.
I hope that through my being here and understanding the challenges you
face, the links of friendship and mutual respect between the
Palestinian and British people will grow stronger."
Just below from the Temple Mount is the Western Wall. It is the foundation from which the temple on the Temple Mount was built. Today the Western Wall is where Jews come to pray. It is much bigger than what you actually see, it stretches through a tunnel right along the western side.
The Prince came to the outside plaza of the Western Wall and was accompanied by the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain Ephraim Mirvis and the sites Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich. He went up to the wall and placed his hand on the wall.
At the wall this morning were many Jews, because today was the day for Bar Mitzvahs, when a young boy becomes a man and can hold the Torah scroll for the first time. I imagine no boy dreamed of having a Prince at his Bar Mitzvah.
After that he signed the visitor's book with "May the God of peace bless this region and all the world with peace," then he was presented with a book.
From there he went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchral. Tradition
says that this is the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. It
is a holy place to Christians around the world and is a beautiful
church.
At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre many religious
representatives from all the different Christian sects joined him: the
Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Armenian Patriarch and representatives of
Franciscan custodians, and he was accompanied by the Anglican
Archbishop Suheil Dawani.
This visit is long overdue but it is in the fullness of time, and we can all see that the players are in place on the board of life, we are just patiently waiting for HIM