A report by UN experts has called on
The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization (Unesco), whose experts have visited thesite, issued a report on Wednesday questioning a "lack of a clearwork plan setting the limits of the activity, opening the possibility ofextensive and unnecessary excavations".
'Suspend the project'
The Unesco report has called on
"The government of Israel should be asked to stopimmediately the archaeological excavations given that the excavations that havebeen undertaken were deemed to be sufficient for the purpose of assessing thestructural conditions of the pathway," the Unesco report states, accordingto officials.
If excavations proceed, Unesco concluded, they should beconducted under international supervision.
Mark Regev, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, said theUnesco report "shows clearly that the Israeli restoration work is totallybenign".
Regev said Israeli officials had started a process to"re-engage with the relevant parties in an effort to allay concerns,"but did not say that
Unesco officials did not immediately comment.
Violent protests
The excavations led to violent Muslim protests inEast Jerusalem, which includes the walled
It considers all of
Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of thestate they aspire to establish in the occupied
Unesco officials visited the site last month.
The UN report says that the rampway should retain "the values ofauthenticity and integrity of the site".
It calls for international team of experts lead by Unesco to oversee theconstruction of the new walkway if it goes ahead.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev claimed the UN report proved
"This totally supports our stance in that this (work) is benign,"he told Reuters news agency. "This publicly disputes some of the hatefulmessages put out there by extremists for political gain."
The initial excavations sparked off violent Muslim protests in
A spokesman for the