Egypt protests at Israeli operation at summit start

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Jan 4 (Reuters) Egypt protested against Israel's military operation in the West Bank town of Ramallah today as President Hosni Mubarak received Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, state news agency MENA said.

''President Mubarak asserted to Olmert that Egypt rejects and is indignant at the military operation which Israeli forces carried out in Ramallah today,'' it said.

Egyptian state television showed Mubarak and Olmert sitting opposite each other in animated conversation at the start of their talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

''President Mubarak called on the need for an immediate end to acts of violence and refraining from practices which hinder peace efforts. He said that Israel's security will not come about by military force,'' the Egyptian agency added.

Israeli forces mounted a rare raid into Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, today, killing four Palestinians and detaining four wanted men.

Smoke rose over central Ramallah after Israeli armoured vehicles and bulldozers pushed into the city to carry out what an Israeli army spokeswoman called ''routine arrest activity''.

REUTERS PB HT2330