CAIRO (Update 2) - Egypt has condemned Israel's shooting of Egyptian soldiers on Thursday and asked for an official apology, state media reported on Saturday. A statement issued after an extraordinary ministerial meeting also attended by army commanders said Egypt will never give up the rights of its sons, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) said. The meeting entrusted the Egyptian foreign minister to summon the Israeli ambassador to Cairo to express Egypt's rejection of the shooting. Egypt called on Israel to launch an official probe into the incident and take all legal measures on this score, it added. Hundreds of Egyptians continued to protest Saturday in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo for the second day. They demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and stronger action from the Egyptian government. Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said on his Facebook page Friday that the Egyptian blood is too precious to be spilt without response. He said the "Jan. 25 revolution" erupted to regain the dignity of the Egyptian people. "What had been acceptable before the revolution will not be acceptable in post-revolution Egypt," he added. State-run Nile TV channel reported Saturday that Egypt decided to withdraw its ambassador from Israel, but a cabinet source told Xinhua Saturday that Egypt has not decided on this. By Saturday noon, MENA has no reports about this. Egyptian English newspapers reported Saturday that Chief of Staff of Egypt's Armed Forces Sami Anan headed to Sinai on Friday to probe the deaths. But MENA denied this on Friday in a report. An Egyptian army officer and four soldiers inside the Egyptian territory were killed and several others injured during clashes between Israeli security forces and armed groups inside the Israeli territories at the border sign No. 79, MENA said, quoting Egyptian Information Minister Osama Hikal. The latest report of casualties contradicted previous reports of the agency, which said three Egyptian soldiers were killed. There were also contradictory reports about the cause of the deaths. State-run Ahram newspaper said Friday that militants trying to slip in from Israel killed the policemen. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. It is the first Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. But the relations have witnessed subtle changes since the fall of Egypt's ex-president Hosni Mubarak in February. A major pipeline exporting gas to Israel in Egypt's Arish has been bombed five times since February, disrupting the gas supply to Israel.
