The Arab League (AL) Council would hold a meeting on Saturday at the level of permanent representatives to consider Israel's excavation operations near al- Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a Palestinian delegate to the Cairo- based league said on Thursday.

Hussein Abdel-Khaleq, Palestinian chief delegate to the AL, made the remarks in a statement, noting that the Israeli excavations near the Islamic holy shrine in Jerusalem is part of an Israeli scheme to impose a fait accompli in the area.

Digging under the al-Aqsa Mosque poses a threat to the Islamic holy site, he added.

Israeli excavation work started Tuesday near Al-Magharba Gate, which is considered part of the Western Wall of al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine. The operation has caused wide-spread anger across the Arab world.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority on Tuesday defended its construction work, saying it was building a safe bridge to the al- Aqsa compound which would cause no damage to it.

Source: Xinhua