His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday said the national interest supersedes any other interest, and urged senators, deputies and government officials to assume responsibility for working in the best interests of the country.

"The relation between the three authorities, especially the legislative authority and the executive authority, should be one of cooperation and complementarity, a relationship built on confidence, respect and feelings of shared responsibility," King Abdullah said during a meeting with national leaders, which also included serving and former premiers and ministers.

"But it has been really disheartening to see that distrust, exchange of accusations and blame-laying exists. Even more disheartening is the tug of war and arm-twisting between the government and the deputies."

The King said that "it is not the interest of the homeland that the relation between the legislative authority and the executive authority is one of struggle; nor is it in the interest of the homeland when the Lower House becomes a battleground between blocs or centers of power."

Although unemployment is one of the most pressing issues in the country and one of the most talked about, the King said that elected officials had been lax in actively seeking solutions to the problem.

"I asked the deputies to give us plans and solutions for dealing with this problem in their constituencies, [and] I am sorry to say that I received nothing except a response from one or two members of parliament. This means that there is no follow-up," he said.

"This leads us," His Majesty continued, "to the topic of 'wasta' (intermediation). I really wish that every deputy, member of the Upper House or minister, instead of endeavoring to get jobs for others, would rather - along with the rest of us - try to change our sons' and daughters' perceptions of work and jobs… They should understand that ‘wasta' is not an honest deed."

The King criticized “patrons” of the “political salons” in Amman “who leak rumors and false news to the foreign press” in order to intimidate the country.

“Nobody should ally themselves with others to intimidate our homeland or try to intimidate us because we are traveling the path of right,” he said. “Our affiliation to the homeland is much stronger than anybody who draws courage from any other force."

King Abdullah also criticized some weekly newspapers, which, he said, "compete in spreading rumors and lies for financial gain, even at the expense of the national interest."

The King also acknowledged the fears of some Jordanians that plans exist to “redraw the map of the region” and "to settle some historic issues” at Jordan's expense, referring to the issue of resettling Palestinian refugees.

"We in Jordan - whether our origins are from the west of the river or from its east, or from the north or the south of the country - should stand up to any plan that aims to deprive the Palestinians of their right to return to their homeland or to establish their independent state on Palestinian soil, and nowhere else. And If such a plan exists, it is a plot against the Palestinian people as much as it is a plot against Jordan."