Israel said on Monday it had charged two local employees of the British Consulate General in Jerusalem with arms trafficking as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to fire a rocket into a major sports stadium in the capital.

A British Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman confirmed the arrests and said Britain was urgently seeking confirmation of the charges.

"We have been told by the Israeli authorities that the investigation into our two employees is unrelated to the work they do at the consulate," the spokesman said.

The Shin Bet said the two Palestinians were indicted recently on the weapons charges in connection with an alleged plot by two other Palestinians to attack Teddy Stadium, home to the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team, with a rocket.

The Shin Bet said the consulate staffers helped the two other suspects, alleged members of the Hamas Islamist group who were charged in court on Sunday, to obtain guns.

No rockets were found by authorities, who said the plot to attack the stadium had been in its preliminary stages