Speaking to IslamOnline.net, Michel LeLong said the Israeli government would be held accountable for any harm done to the mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrin, by the ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups.

He described threats by ultra-Orthodox Jews to storm the mosque as “an unacceptable scandal which contravenes with the principle of tolerance and respect of other religions, particularly Islam”.

“Muslims undoubtedly have historical rights in the Al-Quds [occupied East Jerusalem],” stressed the French bishop who chaired a Vatican organization on Islamic-Christian relations.

Asked on Jewish bids to raze Al-Aqsa Mosque and build on its ruins their alleged Haykal (temple of Solomon), LeLong said the mosque is a “red line” that should not be crossed.

“It is an axiomatic fact and cannot be changed,” he added emphatically.

The French bishop warned against heeding “extremists calls to revive history on the basis of illogical claims and religious myths inciting violence and fanning up intolerance.”

Jews claim that their alleged Haykal exists underneath Al Haram Al Sharif, which combines Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

Al-Haram Al-Sharif was the first qibla (direction Muslims take during prayers) and is the third holiest shrine after Al Ka'ba in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Its significance has been reinforced by the incident of Al Isra'a and Al Mi'raj (the night journey from Makkah to Al-Quds and the ascent to the Heavens by Prophet Muhammad).

Palestinian archeologists have warned that ongoing Israeli excavations weakened the foundations of Al-Aqsa mosque, cautioning it would not stand a powerful earthquake.

Bishop LeLong said that Israel is obliged by international law to end its occupation of Al-Quds.

“It is very important to view Al-Quds as a political problem created by the Israeli occupation of the city by force,” he added.

He said UN Security Council resolution 478 of 1980 clearly condemned the Israeli control over the holy city.

Under the Geneva Convention, the bishop added, Al-Quds residents should be protected because they live under Israel’s occupation which started in June 1967.

“Why on earth does the international community rush to implement other UN resolutions on countries like Iraq and Syria and doesn't move a finger when it comes to Israel?” he wondered.

LeLong further dismissed the 1980 Israeli Knesset (parliament) decision, which regarded East and West Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel.

“This was a blatant violation of international law,” the priest said.

Bishop Salib Matta, member of the Egyptian Orthodox Copts Council, told IOL earlier in the month that “Jews can’t turn black into white and claim sacred rights in Al-Quds.”

Bishop Rafiq Girgis, director of the Catholic Church press office in Cairo, also stressed there was no evidence that Jews had sacred rights in Al-Quds.

Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Muslim Sunni world, said on March 27 that Jews have no religious rights whatsoever in the holy city.