CAIRO, March 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday condemned an Israeli assassination of Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

    "The Israeli act would destroy the Middle East peace process," Mubarak told reporters after a meeting with visiting US Mideast envoy William Burns.

    "No one could have ever imagined that matters would come to such a point," Mubarak said of the predawn Israeli helicopter attack on Yassin, whose group is behind many suicide bombing attacks.

    "The consequences of what happened to Yassin could never be known," Mubarak said, terming the Israeli act as "meaningless and miscalculated."

    "Israel has made a mistake by taking advantage of the US preoccupation with presidential elections to carry out such a heinous act," he said.

    "Today, the Mideast peace march has been completely aborted, andfrom now on, everything concerning the peace process will have to be revised," he stressed.

    "Egypt would not attend celebrations of the anniversary of the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Camp David peace treaty," the Egyptian leader said of the event to be held in Tel Aviv later thismonth.

    Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israelin 1979, has been playing a key mediating role in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflicts.

    However, Egypt recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv in November 2000 in protest of Israel's excessive use of force against unarmed Palestinians.

    In April 2002, Egypt also decided to sever all relations with Israel, except diplomatic ties. Enditem