Saudi Arabia has warned against attempts by Jewish extremists to enter Al Aqsa Mosque and called for urgent action by the international community to confront the situation and pressure Israel to prevent such attempts.

In its weekly meeting the Saudi Cabinet said any such attempts will jeopardise security and stability in the region and block peace efforts.

Also, Bahrain condemned the move by Israeli extremists, warning that harming the holy shrine would trigger an angry Islamic response.

"There are parties in Israel that don't want peace and will do anything to abort any attempt to achieve progress in the peace process," Bahraini Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, was quoted as saying yesterday.

These extremist groups tend to create problems each time the region witnesses a movement towards peace, he told the local Arabic daily Al Meethaq. "Otherwise how can you explain [this week's] shooting of Palestinian children who were playing," he added.

Asked about the threat of "storming and burning" Al Aqsa Mosque by Jewish extremists, Shaikh Mohammad, who chairs the current GCC ministerial council, said that was "possible". He added: "If things reach this point, the responsibility will not be only an Arab responsibility; it will be an Islamic responsibility, which would require an Islamic response similar to the one [in 1969] when the mosque was burned."