![Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wave during a reception ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah, August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS1ARSU](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/08/RTS1ARSU.jpg/RTS1ARSU.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=v9SuAJTR)
Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and political commentator based in Amman who specializes in Middle East issues. He can be reached at alsharif.osama@gmail.com. On Twitter: @plato010
![Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wave during a reception ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah, August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS1ARSU](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/08/RTS1ARSU.jpg/RTS1ARSU.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=v9SuAJTR)
![DFfbaXJVwAASvx3.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/07/DFfbaXJVwAASvx3.jpg/DFfbaXJVwAASvx3.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=aPI_zhAV)
![Israeli border police officers stand guard as Palestinians pray at Lions' Gate, the entrance to Jerusalem's Old City, in protest over Israel's new security measures at the compound housing al-Aqsa mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3C773](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/07/RTX3C773.jpg/RTX3C773.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=8vGGQ5fj)
![An elderly man sits in front of a vegetable shop near damaged buildings in the province of Daraa, Syria July 11, 2017. REUTERS/ Alaa al-Faqir - RTX3AZSY](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/07/RTX3AZSY.jpg/RTX3AZSY.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=kyvIaEGM)
![CORRECTION - Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attend a welcome ceremony at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman on March 28, 2017 ahead of talks on the eve of the Arab League summit. / AFP PHOTO / Khalil MAZRAAWI / The erroneous byline appearing in the metadata of this photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Khalil MAZRAAWI] instead of [Marwan IBRAHIM]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from a](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/06/GettyImages-659113152.jpg/GettyImages-659113152.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=QsPNAqLU)
![Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Jordan's King Abdullah attend a meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia November 24, 2015. Speaking before a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, Putin called Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet "a stab in the back" carried out by the accomplices of terrorists, saying the incident would have serious consequences for Moscow's relations with Ankara. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/06/RTX1VM1A.jpg/RTX1VM1A.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=9cUco8qI)
![A man inspects a piece of a rocket that landed south of Daraa Al-Balad, Syria, April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RTX348K8](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/05/RTX348K8.jpg/RTX348K8.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=S8kUBugE)
![U.S. soldiers take part in Exercise Eager Lion at one of the Jordanian military bases in Zarqa, east of Amman, Jordan, May 24, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSFR5K](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/04/RTSFR5K.jpg/RTSFR5K.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=oRPVUTJI)
![(front R-L) Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Sudan's President Omar Al Bashir, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz pose for a group photograph during the 28t](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/04/RTX3363J.jpg/RTX3363J.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=C_UlwFeB)
![Ahmad Daqamseh, a Jordanian soldier convicted of killing seven Israeli schoolgirls on March 13, 1997, is seen at Um Alluol prison in the city of Mafraq, Jordan, July 30, 2013. Picture taken July 30, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX30MQ8](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/03/RTX30MQ8.jpg/RTX30MQ8.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=2wXpSDAJ)
![Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Nemenov/Pool - RTSXBNR](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/02/RTSXBNR.jpg/RTSXBNR.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=gwM9Xk_h)
![U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis (L) welcomes Jordan King Abdullah at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RTSY39K](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/02/RTSY39K.jpg/RTSY39K.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=TwYPnBjT)
Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and political commentator based in Amman who specializes in Middle East issues. He can be reached at alsharif.osama@gmail.com. On Twitter: @plato010