Rubio to inaugurate contentious excavated ancient road near Jerusalem’s Old City

As part of his official visit to Israel this week, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he will inaugurate a newly excavated ancient road at the City of David National Park near Jerusalem’s Old City tonight, calling it “one of the most important archaeological sites on the planet.”

Speaking at a press conference alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rubio says he will later “inaugurate and open to the world perhaps one of the most important archaeological sites on the planet — one that has deep meaning to so many people in the United States as well.”

“It’s an honor to be here and be a part of that,” he adds.

While parts of the road were previously opened, it has now been fully excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority, allowing visitors to walk from one end to the other. Rubio will inaugurate the newly completed route at 8 p.m. tonight, a spokesperson for the City of David tells The Times of Israel.

According to the City of David Foundation, the tunnel — dubbed “Pilgrim’s Road” — was discovered at the Pool of Siloam at the base of the City of David, an archaeological site just south of the Old City, and runs 600 meters (1,970 feet) to the Temple Mount. Foundation archaeologists say the path was used during the Second Temple period (516 BCE–70 CE) by Jewish pilgrims making their way to the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Jews, which is also sacred to Muslims as the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The top US diplomat will knock down a temporary wall built near the Southern Wall excavations to “open” the Pilgrim’s Path to the Temple Mount, a source with knowledge adds. Reports about the visit have highlighted controversy over the City of David’s location in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, amid reports that Rubio is supportive of Israel annexing the West Bank in response to Western states planning to recognize a Palestinian state this month.

Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman previously sparked controversy over his use of a sledgehammer to knock down a temporary wall unveiling a different part of the site, though he rejected criticism that the move signaled US recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the contested area.

Ahead of his trip, Rubio dismissed what he described as “politics” around the event, telling reporters that the City of David is “one of the most important archaeological sites in the world” and that he’s visited the site “numerous times.”

“I understand people want to involve politics in it. I understand everything in this region is political to some extent. But at the end of the day, it’s an extraordinary archaeological site. It just is, and I think an important one for multiple faiths,” he said.