CAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - An Egyptian police officer has refused orders to go on guard duty at the Israeli embassy in Cairo, and faces a disciplinary committee over his action, security sources said on Wednesday.

The sources said the officer had gone on hunger strike over the matter, and had been admitted to a Cairo hospital three days ago where he remained in serious condition. Police sources said the man was expected to be referred to a military tribunal for refusing to follow orders, but the disciplinary committee had delayed a decision on that over his health. They said the officer had refused his orders earlier this year, but did not say when he began the hunger strike.

Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel, but many Egyptians still regard the Jewish state as an enemy because the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not been resolved.

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