King Mohammed VI of Morocco has urged Israel not to press ahead with plans to build a synagogue in east Jerusalem. The king warned that such a building next to the Al-Aqsa Mosque could have "detrimental consequences" on Israel's peace talks with the Palestinians. "What has been started in this district will certainly complicate the peace deal and could have to detrimental consequences," he said in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI and the United Nations. The Al-Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount - Islam's third holiest site - has been a major flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The site saw the outbreak of the latest Palestinian uprising, or intifada, in 2000. East Jerusalem is home to Jews, Muslims and Christians.
"I would like, in my capacity as chairman of Al-Quds Committee, to talk to you about the recent actions taken by the Israeli government in Jerusalem where it launched the construction of a Jewish temple in the Muslim district of Al-Buraq Square, adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque. The work undertaken in this district will undoubtedly lead to complications which will not serve in any way the peace which we hope and pray for. It could also have dire consequences the extent and impact of which no one can predict," Mohammed wrote.
