Editing Abdullah II of Jordan (section)

==== West Bank ====
In December 2012, Abdullah was the first head of state to visit the [[West Bank]] after a [[United Nations General Assembly]] vote upgraded the [[Palestinian Authority]] to a [[United Nations General Assembly observers|nonmember observer state]].<ref name="nytpajk">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/world/middleeast/king-abdullah-ii-of-jordan-visits-west-bank-to-show-support-for-un-vote.html|title=Visit to West Bank by King Gives Palestinians a Lift|access-date=17 February 2017|date=6 December 2012|work=The New York Times|first=Isabel |last=Kereshner|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318054214/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/world/middleeast/king-abdullah-ii-of-jordan-visits-west-bank-to-show-support-for-un-vote.html|archive-date=18 March 2017}}</ref> Jordan sees an independent Palestinian state, with the [[Green Line (Israel)|1967 borders]], as part of the [[two-state solution]] and of supreme national interest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jordantimes.com/news/local/palestinian-state-highest-national-interest-jordan-%E2%80%94-gov%E2%80%99t|title=Palestinian state of highest national interest for Jordan – gov't|first=Khetam|last=Malkawi|access-date=17 February 2017|date=16 February 2017|work=The Jordan Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216230108/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/palestinian-state-highest-national-interest-jordan-%E2%80%94-gov%E2%80%99t |archive-date=16 February 2017}}</ref> Jordan, the only country bordering the West Bank other than Israel, [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|ruled]] it after the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] and lost in the 1967 [[Six-Day War]]. Its annexation of the West Bank was not recognized, and in 1988 the kingdom [[Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank|ceded its claim]] to the territory.<ref name="nytpajk" />

An interview with Abdullah by [[Jeffrey Goldberg]], published in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' in March 2013, sparked controversy when the king criticized local and international figures and parties. He called the Muslim Brotherhood a "Masonic cult" and "wolves in sheep's clothing", described ousted Egyptian president [[Mohammad Morsi]] as a man with "no depth" and said that Turkish prime minister [[Recep Tayyip Erdogan]] saw democracy as "a bus ride".<ref name="kajcfa" /> Abdullah also criticized American diplomats, some of his country's tribal leaders and members of his family.<ref name="kajcfa">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/world/middleeast/king-abdullah-of-jordan-has-criticism-for-all-concerned.html|title=Jordan's King Finds Fault With Everyone Concerned|access-date=22 February 2017|date=18 March 2013|work=The New York Times|first=David|last=Kirkpatrick|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222113554/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/world/middleeast/king-abdullah-of-jordan-has-criticism-for-all-concerned.html|archive-date=22 February 2017}}</ref>

Another 2013 article in ''The Atlantic'' advised him to address governmental corruption, saying that there "is a growing perception that the degeneracy reaches the palace". According to the article, Abdullah was accused of "illegally appropriating 'tribal' lands" shortly after his accession and members of 36 Jordanian tribes issued a statement denouncing Queen Rania's "publicized and extravagant" 43rd birthday party in 2013.<ref name="takacnc">{{cite web |url= https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/01/will-jordan-be-the-first-arab-monarchy-to-fall/266897/ |title= Will Jordan Be the First Arab Monarchy to Fall? |work= The Atlantic |first=David |last=Schenker |access-date=10 March 2017 |date=8 January 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170312062137/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/01/will-jordan-be-the-first-arab-monarchy-to-fall/266897/ |archive-date=12 March 2017}}</ref>