Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Friday that the U.S. response to the over-two-week-old conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah was "too little, too late."

According to Egypt's official MENA news agency, Mubarak made the remarks in an interview with U.S. weekly Time, during which he expressed displeasure at the U.S. administration's handling of the conflict in Lebanon.

Mubarak was quoted by MENA as saying that the crisis "could have been contained at its early stage", demanding the international community issue a "serious and urgent demarche" to achieve peace and security in the region.

Mubarak also said that he had asked Syrian President Bashar al- Assad to intervene for the release of the two Israeli soldiers, who were captured by Hezbollah during a cross-border attack on July 12.

But Israel's military offensive in Lebanon "went way too far" and had "triggered an increasing rage within Arabs, Muslims and people worldwide," said Mubarak.

The Egyptian president also said that he would not join the U.S. push for Arab pressure on Syria, which backs Hezbollah, arguing that attempts to isolate Damascus were "counterproductive."

In addition, Mubarak criticized Hezbollah for acting as a " state within the state."

He also said that the root cause of the escalating conflict in the Middle East was related to the Arab-Iraeli conflict and the stalemate of the Mideast peace process.

"No progress was achieved with regard to the roadmap (peace plan). The two-state vision, declared by U.S. President (George) Bush in June 2002, did not move an inch," said Mubarak.

Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries to have peace treaties with Israel.

More than 400 Lebanese and more than 50 Israelis have been killed since the eruption of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict in Lebanon.

Source: Xinhua