Arabs appeal to UN on mosque dig

United Nations: The Arab group at the United Nations has appealed to the UN Security Council to stop Israeli excavation near an important Islamic site in Jerusalem.

Israel has said that it wants to salvage artefacts before construction of a pedestrian bridge leading to the complex, which is also sacred to Jews.

Muslims fear that the excavations, which began on Tuesday, could damage the foundations of the 1,400-year-old Al Aqsa mosque.

At a meeting of the Arab group, members agreed to send a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council to discuss the issue.

Arab ambassadors asked the Security Council for "urgent measures" and said they "denounced" Israel's "escalation of its aggression on Islamic endowments".