CAIRO (Reuters) - The bloody takeover of Gaza by Hamas was a "coup against legitimacy," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday, two days before he hosts a regional summit seen as an attempt to isolate the Islamist group.

Following the takeover of the Gaza strip by Hamas in 2006, the Gaza Strip faced increased international isolation, particularly from Western countries and Israel, due to Hamas being designated as a terrorist organisation by many nations.