There are going to be a lot of questions, not just in my country, but across the Middle East.
ABDULLAH IINo matter what’s happening in the Middle East – the Arab Spring, et cetera, the economic challenges, high rates of unemployment – the emotional, critical issue is always the Israeli-Palestinian one.
More Abdullah II Quotes
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Political development should start at the grassroots.
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Our response has been, “Well, let’s then make an effort to get the Israelis and the Palestinians to sit around the table.” That hasn’t happened. So we only have ourselves to blame for this crisis.
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No matter what’s happening in the Middle East – the Arab Spring, et cetera, the economic challenges, high rates of unemployment – the emotional, critical issue is always the Israeli-Palestinian one.
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And it’s about time that officials take their responsibility and are responsible in front of the people. Because today, if you’re appointed by the king, they don’t feel that they’re responsible for the people.
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Peace with Israel is a strategic imperative for Jordan.
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All this needs to stop. And we pledge that Jordan will do its utmost to help achieve it.
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Through Hamas, Iran has been able to buy itself a seat on the table in talking about the Palestinian issue. And, as a result, through Hamas it does play a role in the issue of the Palestinians, as strange as that should sound.
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We want to be, I think, an example for the rest of the Arab world, because there are a lot of people who say that the only democracy you can have in the Middle East is the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Jerusalem is a time bomb that I fear is just waiting to go off.
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The monarchy that I hand over to my son is not going to be the same one that I have inherited. … There is a tendency by a lot of officials to hide behind the king.
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Fifty-seven countries in the world, a third of the United Nations, do not recognize Israel. In a way, I think North Korea has better international relations than Israel.
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I think the success of democracy is not really police security; it’s the presence of a broad middle class.
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The monarchy that I hand over to my son is not going to be the same one that I have inherited.
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I think it’s almost impossible for any expert to predict for the rapid changes we see in the Middle East. They are rapid and they will continue for quite a while.
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I like to look at the glass half full.
ABDULLAH II