MIDDLE EAST:A report by a team of UN experts calls on Israel to halt excavations near Jerusalem's most sacred Islamic site and proceed only under international supervision, officials said yesterday.
Israel's archaeological excavations, taking place 50m (165ft) from a religious compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, have sparked protests across the Muslim world.
The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) sent experts to the site last month.
"While recognising that the archaeological works under way are being carried out according to professional standards, the mission expressed its concern regarding the lack of a clear work plan setting the limits of the activity, thereby opening the possibility of extensive and unnecessary excavations," the report states, according to officials with access to the findings.
The report calls on Israel to suspend the project and draw up a new work plan in consultation with Jordanian authorities and the Waqf, a body that oversees Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
Israeli archaeologists began excavations at the site on February 7th to salvage artefacts before planned construction of a walkway leading up to the complex. - ( Reuters )