Abdullah II became king of Jordan in February 1999 after the death of his father, King Hussein, who ruled the country for 47 years. Hussein forged a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.

Abdullah has urged that Jerusalem be declared an "open city" where West Jerusalem would become the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem the capital of the future Palestinian state. Apparently following the footsteps of his father, Abdullah also has played the role of mediator on other matters in the region, working behind the scenes to try to restart talks between Israel and Syria.