“It is the first step towards dividing the mosque, a prelude to demolishing it and building a temple,” Meshaal said in a speech in Damascus, where he is based.

Dozens of people were wounded on Sunday in confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinians in and around the mosque compound, a flashpoint site holy to Muslims and Jews alike.

“Jerusalem belongs to its Arab inhabitants, Muslims and Christians. The future (of the city) will not be settled at the negotiating table but on the ground of confrontation and resistance,” Meshaal said.

He called on Arab leaders to “withdraw the Arab peace initiative” which offers a normalisation of ties between Arabs and Israelis in return for an Israeli pullout from occupied Arab lands.

Saudi Arabia launched the initiative in 2002.