Abdullah II
Abdullah IIReuters

Jordan's King Abdullah says that his country is at its "boiling point" over the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who have been arriving on the borders.

In a BBC interview, the monarch explained that Jordan's social services, infrastructure and economy are under a tremendous amount of pressure. "Sooner or later, I think, the dam is going to burst."

He then claimed that, if the international community wants Jordan to continue accepting refugees, it must provide more money.

The United Nations has asked for $7.7 billion in order to help Syrians over the coming year, though the body was only able to raise $1.2 billion or the project in 2015, less than half of its intended goal.

Jordanians are unsure of how to handle the increasing number of asylum seekers arriving at their borders. A quarter of the budget is already dedicated to supporting refugee programs. Only one percent of Syrian refugees have received work permits, but allowing more to seek employment would be unpopular with the wider public, who fear the immigrants will take jobs from them.

King Abdullah says that Europeans appear to more empathetic with his plight now that Europe is suffering from similar issues. "They realize that if they don't help Jordan, it's going to be more difficult for them to deal with the refugee crisis."