BEIT-UL-MOQADDAS (AFP) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak slammed Israel's foreign minister for crossing a red line in her criticism of Cairo's efforts to halt arms smuggling to Gaza, in an interview published recently.

""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 criticize 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.""
He was referring to Livni's comments before Israel's foreign affairs and defense committee on Monday in which she slammed Egyptian efforts to crack down on arms smuggling in Gaza Strip.
""Their actions are problematic and are risking the possibility of advancing in the peace process,"" she was quoted as saying.
Israel has often accused Egypt of doing too little to counter alleged arms smuggling via tunnels dug from Gaza into Egyptian territory. Cairo has denied the charge.
Mubarak on Wednesday held talks with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Barak sought to reduce tensions over arms smuggling, saying he came away ""with better ways of understanding to work out any difficulties.""