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Why did the ancient inland sea in the Dead Sea region not overflow into the Gulf of Aqaba?

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White salt deposits cover rocks along the shore of the Dead Sea near Masada, Israel, with green water and dramatic cloudy sky in the background. — Dead Sea Salt deposits at the Dead Sea near Masada, Israel.

During the Pleistocene Epoch, the region contained a vast inland sea that extended significantly beyond the current limits of the Dead Sea. This ancient body of water did not overflow into the Gulf of Aqaba because its path was obstructed by a 100-foot (30-meter) rise in the highest part of Wadi Al-Arabah, a seasonal watercourse located to the east of the central Negev highlands.1