When the prime minister's chartered plane lands at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon, the reception for David Cameron and his entourage of around some 70 aides and delegates may be a little rough around the edges.

Cameron's first visit to the Holy Land since taking office almost four years ago has already been cancelled once, due to last month's extensive flooding in the UK. This time, it coincides with a long-running labour dispute in Israel's foreign ministry, which means its officials and diplomats are refusing to have anything to do with the UK visit, leaving logistical arrangements to the Israeli prime minister's office and British diplomatic staff on the ground.

"This is an unusual situation, especially with a delegation from such an important country," said an Israeli government official. "Protocol will not be followed." In keeping with the union action, the Israeli embassy in London said it could not comment on Cameron's visit.

Cameron will be accompanied by about two dozen trade delegates and several representatives of his recently launched Commission on the Holocaust, as well as government officials. A string of trade announcements is expected during his 22 hours in Israel.

But the heart of the visit will be an address to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and meetings with the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and President Shimon Peres. Cameron will also meet the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, on a much shorter visit to the West Bank on Thursday.

To both sides, Cameron is expected to restate the UK's position, endorsing the peace initiative of the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and warning that time is running out to implement the internationally backed two-state solution to the decades-long conflict.

But his tone is likely to be notably friendly, rather than hectoring, towards Israel. Following Israel's concerns that the UK is moving towards a tougher position on settlements and settlement produce, "Cameron will be aiming to bring Britain firmly into the orbit of friendly nations, although we're unlikely to see a Canadian-style love-in," one analyst said. "His tone will be warm and supportive. He is coming as a friend, on the model of Obama's visit last year."

However, the British leader will stress the need to seize the opportunity provided by Kerry.

"The timing of Cameron's visit is about the peace process," said a diplomat. "There is a window open now, but potentially it closes in six weeks' time." Kerry has set the end of April as the deadline for reaching a "framework agreement" between the two sides.

Cameron is likely to reiterate Britain's long-standing opposition to settlement expansion. Some observers would like to see him go beyond the standard statement, with an uncompromising message that peace requires painful withdrawals from Israel's colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and that failing to do so this will be increased international isolation, including a growing global boycott movement. (The UK government's position is that it opposes a boycott of Israel but supports clear labelling of settlement produce to allow consumers to make an informed choice.)

If Kerry fails to win agreement for his framework agreement, the Palestinians are expected to renew their efforts to win recognition for their state in the international arena and to pursue the boycott strategy. They will press the UK and other European states for action to back up their words.

"The Palestinians are very anxious," said the diplomat. "They fear that Kerry has spent too long trying to persuade the Israelis and as a result is now overly influenced by the Israeli agenda."

According to this source, positions on both sides are now hardening, making it more difficult for Kerry to broker a "strong, groundbreaking" agreement. "There's a lot of hard pounding in the weeks ahead."

Iran will also be on the agenda for the Cameron-Netanyahu meetings, with the British prime minister seeking to reassure his Israeli counterpart that its concerns over Tehran's nuclear weapons programme will be addressed in international talks on a permanent deal. Israel was deeply unhappy with the temporary agreement reached in Geneva last year.

Despite some robust statements from the UK Foreign Office, Cameron has not embraced the Israeli-Palestinian issue. "Israel does not seem a priority for him," said the Israeli government official. "Perhaps, rather like Obama's desire to be the 'un-Bush', Cameron is doing the 'un-Blair' thing. Relations have been a little bit cooler. So now we'd like to see a gesture of friendship."