Jerusalem's Holiest Sites Are Forcing the Middle East to Confront a New Chokepoint, One Through Which No Oil Flows

The 35-acre compound in Jerusalem's Old City, known as Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims, has for decades been managed under a delicate, unwritten arrangement between Israel and Jordan. Israeli police and the Jordanian Waqf religious organization have together controlled which worshippers may enter, at what time, by which route, and what they may do after entering. Previous clashes at the site triggered riots and uprisings in which thousands died, but the arrangement held.

In recent months, Israeli police, under hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have been changing the rules. The Kingdom of Jordan is now hosting senior ministers from some 13 Arab and Islamic nations to figure out what to do about it. At best, the outcome will complicate relations between Israel and the Muslim world; the worst doesn't bear thinking about. The compound contains the Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, and is revered by Jews as their holiest site where two ancient temples once stood until the second was torn down by the Romans in 70 AD.