It's unusual for senior politicians to speak in absolutes. They normally qualify their statements, leaving themselves an escape in case circumstances change. But what happened in the industrial Jordanian city of Zarqa, where King Abdullah II met with local leaders March 21, was an exception.

Speaking on the issue of Jerusalem, the king did not mince words. “I will never change my position toward Jerusalem in my life,” he said, adding, “All my people are with me.”

His statement came nine days after the Jordanian monarch had visited Washington and met with President Donald Trump's team. Press speculation focused on a clear increase in political pressure on Jordan to acquiesce to Washington and its plans to publicly introduce its “deal of the century” shortly after the Israeli elections on April 9. The United States is desperate for Arab support for its plans in light of the boycott by the Palestinian leadership of the US administration since December 2017, when Trump announced plans to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

It was not long before the king’s seriousness was tested. On March 24, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila told the annual AIPAC policy conference in Washington that she was “pleased” to announce that “I, as prime minister of Romania, and the government that I run will move our embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel.”