The coronavirus pandemic has slammed the brakes on the global economy over the past few weeks, as city centers around the world have emptied out. But it was more than just day-to-day life that ground to a halt. So did international conflicts. As a result of the coronavirus, one of the greatest sources of friction in the Middle East has found itself engulfed in a rare state of tranquility. The entire Temple Mount has been shut down to visitors, worshippers and tourists alike, and now that it is empty, the clashes that constantly plagued the sacred site have all but disappeared.

A worried Israel has been keeping close tabs on events on the Temple Mount ever since the coronavirus broke out across the region. One police source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that serious concerns about mass gatherings at the site were expressed in meetings behind closed doors. He claims that local Muslims ignored Health Ministry directives and hundreds and even thousands gathered to pray in the mosques and outside them. The fear was that this would lead to a coronavirus outbreak in East Jerusalem, which would soon spread to the rest of the city.

Though Israel appealed to the leaders of the Waqf, the Islamic religious trust managing the site, to enforce cautionary measures at the site, they received little cooperation. Then suddenly, on March 15, the Waqf made the surprising announcement that the Temple Mount compound would be closed to visitors in order to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. At the same time, the Israeli Police announced that it had placed a blanket ban on Jews visiting the site for the same reason.

Jewish activists who visit the site regularly in order to show a presence there now claim that they were “sold out” as part of a deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah. As they imagine it, the deal that was reached banned Jews from ascending to the Temple Mount in exchange for the site being closed to Muslims. According to Tom Nissani, chairman of the group Students for the Temple Mount, “Netanyahu sold us out as part of a deal with Abdullah.” He said that Israel is now preventing a handful of Jews from visiting the site, even though Jewish groups followed all the rules. And it was all in exchange for a ban on large gatherings of Muslims to prevent mass infection. He accuses Israel of paying off the Palestinians by limiting the movement of Jews there, “to save the Muslims from themselves." He added, "What makes the situation even worse is the fact that the Waqf controls who gets into the site, even though it is supposedly closed. Hundreds of Muslims, disguised as workers, visit the site every day and hold prayers without taking any precautionary measures. Meanwhile, Jews are denied access. It is absurd.”