Jordan's King Abdullah II calls April's royal rift ‘amateurish and disappointing’

The king has also urged the Palestinians and Israelis to resume talks after latest conflict

Jordanian King Abdullah II, his wife Queen Rania, and Crown Prince Hussein with US President Joe Biden and Jill Biden. AFP

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has described April's royal rift as “unfortunate and unnecessary” during a visit to the US.

Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the king's half-brother and a former crown prince, was among those blamed for supposedly sowing internal division in the kingdom.

But rumours of a potential coup were quickly extinguished when Prince Hamzah signed a declaration reaffirming his loyalty to King Abdullah.

“What I think made this so sad – that one of these people was my brother who did it in such an amateurish and really disappointing way,” King Abdullah said in an interview with CNN host Fareed Zakaria.

Jordan's security services had gathered enough information to have “legitimate concerns".

The king called the situation a “domestic issue”.

He also discussed the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, during which more than 250 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children. The fighting lasted for about weeks.

“This is the first time I feel that a civil war happened in Israel, when you look at the villages and the towns, Arab Israelis and Israelis got into conflict,” King Abdullah said.

He called the conflict a “wake-up call” for both sides.

He once again called for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis and urged the two sides to get “back to the table".

On July 19, King Abdullah met US President Joe Biden in Washington. He was the first Arab leader to visit Mr Biden in the US capital since he took office.

“I was just so delighted to see him in the White House,” the king said.

The two men have known each other for decades, ever since he visited the US Senate with his father King Hussein.

King Adbullah was joined on this trip by his son, Crown Prince Hussein. “It's a family friendship,” he said.