CAIRO: Rebuilding a Jewish temple on the site of Islam's third holiest place, the Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem, could spark World War III, Egypt's grand mufti warned on Monday.

"That cannot happen," Sheikh Nasr Farid Wassel told journalists in response to a question on Egyptian media reports that Israel intends to build a temple there.

"If it happens, Arabs and Muslims will not allow it and it could lead to a third world war breaking out," he said.

The Noble Sanctuary, home to the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed travelled to heaven, stands on the site of the first and second Jewish temples in history.

The future of the site -- under Israeli control since east Jerusalem was seized in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war but under Muslim daily management -- has proved a major stumbling block in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

The first Jewish temple, according to tradition, was built in the days of King Solomon. The second was a rebuilding 2000 years ago by King Herod, and demolished by the Romans in 70 AD. The only remnant is the Wailing Wall.

Sheikh Wassel, who is appointed by the state to issue non-binding formal religious opinions, called for Arab and Muslim unity saying it was the only way to "deter Israel's force, vanity and arrogance."

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has warned that eight months of Israeli-Palestinian violence could spill over into the wider region.

The Noble Sanctuary is considered Islam's third holiest place after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The site, known as Temple Mount to Jews, is the holiest place in Judaism. (AFP)