CrossFireArabia
(Quds News Network) – Former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin recently discussed the complicated relationship between the occupation state of Israel and the late Queen Elizabeth II. He described the ties as “difficult” due to the Queen’s views on the occupation state as a colony.
Speaking at an event in London, Rivlin shared that Queen Elizabeth believed Israelis were either terrorists or the children of terrorists. He explained that the Queen was reluctant to accept Israeli officials into Buckingham Palace, except during international occasions. Rivlin, however, compared this with the support of King Charles III, who he described as “so friendly.”
Despite her position, Queen Elizabeth maintained cordial relations with zionist leaders throughout her reign. She visited many countries as head of state, but she never visited Israel.
In contrast, her son, then-Prince Charles, made two visits to the occupation state in 1995 and 2016. Charles also made an official visit to Israel in 2020.
No member of the UK’s royal family visited Israel in an official capacity until 2018, when Prince William, the queen’s grandson, arrived for the 70th anniversary of Israel’s ‘independence’, ending what appeared to many as an unofficial boycott.
During a visit to Jordan in 1984, one of several trips she made to the Middle East, Queen Elizabeth reportedly exclaimed, “How frightening,” as Israeli fighter jets flew by while she gazed at the occupied West Bank in the distance.
Queen Nour, the wife of King Hussein of Jordan, is said to have responded, “It’s terrible.”
Later, after viewing a map depicting the locations of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, Queen Elizabeth was quoted saying, “What a depressing map.”
During the British Mandate of Palestine, Zionist militias, such as the Irgun (Etzel) and the Lehi (Stern Gang), engaged in a series of terrorist attacks aimed at ending British rule and gaining control of historic Palestine. These groups carried out numerous attacks on British soldiers, police, and infrastructure, viewing such actions as a means of pressuring the British to leave Palestine. Their operations included bombings, assassinations, and raids, with one of the most notorious being the bombing of the King David Hotel in 1946, which killed 91 people.
These militias not only targeted British forces but also attacked native Palestinians. In 1948, these gangs carried out the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, the Nakba, before being rebranded as the Israeli army.
