The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has largely been closed since June after Hamas seized control of the territory and the European Union pulled its monitors out of the Gaza Strip. The EU said on Monday it would consider returning them to the crossing.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit endorsed Mr Abbas's proposal to deploy his own, Western-trained forces at the crossing along with the EU monitors, though the presence of neither force was imminent, given Hamas's command on the ground.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri reacted angrily to Cairo's endorsement of Mr Abbas's proposal, calling it an 'Israeli-led international conspiracy with the participation of some regional parties', which would exclude them from controlling the border.

'We tell all parties that we will not allow the return of old conditions at the crossing,' Mr Abu-Zuhri said.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt after Hamas militants blew up the border wall to allow the territory's 1.5 million people to stock up on food in short supply due to a blockade, which Israel said was tightened in response to cross border rocket attacks.

Hamas fighters cooperated with Egyptian forces on Monday to patch up the frontier barrier.

Gaza's border crossings have become the main battleground in a larger factional power struggle pitting Hamas against Mr Abbas, whose authority has been limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, home to 2.5 million Palestinians.

'Of course they should give the border to Abbas. But where is he?' asked 28-year-old school teacher Ahmed Zaqtan as he returned to Gaza from the Egyptian side on Monday.

Before Hamas's takeover, EU monitors had been posted at Rafah under a deal with Egypt and Israel in 2005 that aimed to allay the Jewish state's concerns about arms and fighters coming into Gaza when it pulled out its own troops and settlers.

In a statement on Monday, EU foreign ministers said the bloc was 'ready to consider resuming its monitoring mission in Rafah' under that deal - provided Mr Abbas, Egypt and Israel all approve.

At Rafah, traffic was back down to a trickle, partly due to Egypt's efforts to stem the flow of goods to the border area.

Egyptian and Hamas forces used concrete and fencing to close two gaps. Two other breaches in the frontier remain open, an entry and an exit, under joint Hamas and Egyptian guard. -- REUTERS