Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak slammed Israel's foreign minister for crossing a red line in her criticism of his country's attempts to halt arms smuggling to Gaza Strip, in an interview published on Thursday. "Tzipi Livni crossed a red line with me," Mubarak told Israel's mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily.
"It's very easy to sit in an office and criticise our performance on the ground," Mubarak said. "This works to dampen the atmosphere. Relations with Israel are very important to me -- do not ruin them."
"If you disapprove of the way we handle arms smuggling, you're welcome to do the job yourselves," he said. "Tzipi Livni's running to the media to complain about us and to give us grades, instead of picking up the phone or sending someone, crossed a red line with me."
The Egyptian leader was referring to Livni's remarks before Israel's foreign affairs and defence committee on Monday in which she attacked Egyptian efforts to crack down on arms smuggling into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. "Their actions are problematic and are risking the possibility of advancing in the peace process," she was quoted as saying.
