A delegation of young Conservative activists visited Israel this week on the first of a series of fact-finding tours of the country.

Hundreds of Tories under the age of 30 applied to take part in the trip, run by the Conservative Friends of Israel.

All those travelling to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the Dead Sea were members of Conservative Future, Britain's largest political youth organisation.

CFI said it had received "phenomenal levels of interest", with 450 people applying for 15 places.

Among the delegates, described by organisers as "ones to watch", were Raza Anjum, previously the country's youngest British Asian Tory councillor; Michael Kusznir, head of Conservative Future Scotland; and Pranav Bhanot, former president of the National Hindu Students' Forum.

CFI director Stuart Polak said the group was planning to take three similar delegations to Israel every year during the current Parliament.

"This is important. We have a lot of work to do with the government and new MPs, but for the future, doing these trips with CFI is an investment," he said.

Israel's Foreign Ministry and London embassy helped co-ordinate the week-long visit, which included time spent in the West Bank meeting young Palestinian entrepreneurs and travelling to the new city of Rawabi.