Israel in talks with EU to reopen Rafah border

Israeli officials said they hoped to be able to finalise an agreement within two weeks, which would see the border crossing, the Palestinians' only direct link to the rest of the world, reopened soon.

"We hope to reach an agreement in the next two weeks which will allow the Rafah terminal to be permanently reopened," a senior Israeli source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Last week, the Israeli security cabinet approved a decision to reopen the terminal under Egyptian and Palestinian control, with European observers monitoring the crossing and real-time surveillance by Israeli cameras.

Sunday's talks, which were presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, aimed at firming up the role to be taken on by EU representatives who will be stationed at the border.

Israel wants the EU representatives to have sufficient powers to be able to enforce any agreement, rather than being mere passive observers.

An official at the European Commission office in Tel Aviv said the opening meeting had been "largely symbolic" but that a working meeting would take place on Sunday evening, and hoped that a further meeting on Tuesday would follow.

"We hope that on Tuesday there will be a three-way meeting between Israel, the Palestinians and the European Union" over the reopening of Rafah, she said.

Meanwhile, Marc Otte, the EU's Middle East envoy, was due to meet Sunday with senior Palestinian officials over the Rafah border agreement, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.

Erakat said he was due to hold talks with Otte after which the EU envoy would meet with prime minister Ahmed Qorei and planning minister Ghassan Khatib "to discuss the international observers at the Rafah border", he said.

"The Palestinian Authority hopes to resolve this problem as soon as possible," he added.

Asked about a possible three-way meeting later this week, Erakat said it would depend on "the outcome of today's talks between us and the Europeans and between Israel and the Europeans".

The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana is due to arrive in the region Wednesday ahead of a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the murder of Yitzak Rabin.

It was not immediately clear whether he would be involved in the Rafah talks.

The fate of the terminal has been in limbo since before Israeli ground troops withdrew from Gaza on September 12.