JERUSALEM — 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.

The British legacy in the region is fraught. Last year, when Israel and Britain marked the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, an assurance of British support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” the Palestinians reacted with fury and demanded an apology from the British government. None has been forthcoming.

Prince William, who is second in line to the British throne, will visit Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories in the occupied West Bank. No specific date was announced. His father and grandfather have traveled to Israel, but not as part of an official royal visit.