CAIRO, January 3, 2008 (WAFA) - Presidential Envoy to Egypt Nabil Shaath on Thursday said that Israel created the issues of smuggling arms to Gaza via Egypt's Sinai to use them as a pretext not to realize any progress in negotiations, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported.

After meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, Shaath said that Israel is trying to curb Egypt's role in the peace process by spreading rumors and creating problems as Egypt is a true support of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and its people.

Shaath's comment came after Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni recently blamed Egypt for not doing enough in preventing arms smuggling by Palestinian militants into the Gaza Strip, thus scuttling Israel's efforts in promoting the peace process.

In return, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that Livni'saction crossed the red line and dampened the atmosphere, calling on Israel not to ruin the bilateral relations.

Shaath also called for the end of Israeli settlement activities, which is "very important."

He pointed out that the upcoming Arab foreign ministers meeting at the end of the week will tackle the Palestinian cause and the Lebanese crisis ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the region.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia on Saturday following his visit to Egypt and Jordan to unite Arab stand, according to Shaath.

Bush will visit Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt during his Middle East peace-promoting journey on Jan. 8-16.