by Ron Bousso

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ATTENTION - ADDS Erakat quotes, Hamas delegation to Egypt ///

JERUSALEM, Jan 27, 2008 (AFP) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders met over the Gaza crisis on Sunday as Egypt battled to regain control of its breached border with the impoverished territory and contain the exodus of Palestinians.

Egyptian police in riot gear and soldiers patrolled the Rafah border area as the authorities tightened security in the Sinai, blocking trucks carrying supplies to Gazans who continued to cross the frontier for a fifth day.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have swarmed across the border since militants blew up the barricades on Tuesday night as a punishing Israeli lockdown of the Hamas-run territory threatened a humanitarian crisis.

In Jerusalem, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas held talks on the crisis with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

"(Olmert) reassured Abbas that Israel would continue to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza after Abu Mazen (Abbas) requested that Israel not harm the civilian population in the Gaza Strip," an Israeli official said.

He said Israel and Egypt were also in talks on how to reseal the border with Gaza, which has been increasingly isolated since the Islamist movement Hamas violently seized control of the tiny strip of land in June last year.

Israel imposed a full blockade of Gaza on January 17 but began allowing supplies of vital fuel and aid back in five days later amid international alarm over the situation.

A senior Palestinian negotiator warned Israel against passing the responsibility for Gaza onto Egypt.

"Israel is fully responsible (for Gaza) and any games to try to divert this responsibility to Egypt is absolutely unacceptable," Saeb Erakat told reporters.

Israel -- which imposed the latest blockade in response to militant rocket fire -- has become increasingly concerned about unfettered access in and out of Gaza by Hamas, a group pledged to Israel's destruction.

In Egypt, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said his country would "take all the appropriate measures to control the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip as soon as possible".

Since the breach, Egypt has struggled to restore order, with authorities on Sunday blocking dozens of trucks attempting to cross the Suez canal to replenish supplies in the divided border town of Rafah.

One truck heading to Rafah laden with 40 tonnes of medicine, food and blankets from the Egyptian doctors' syndicate was forced to return to Cairo, the driver said.

In Sunday's meeting, Abbas again asked Israel to allow his forces -- who were routed by Hamas in June -- to take control over the crossings into Gaza, Erakat said.

But Hamas has called for a new Palestinian-Egyptian arrangement for Rafah, Gaza's sole crossing that bypasses Israel, said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the Islamist group.

Hamas demands "new arrangements, either agreed to in three-way talks between Hamas, Fatah, and Cairo, or two-way talks with Cairo if president Mahmud Abbas continues to refuse dialogue with the Hamas movement," he said.

Before the Hamas takeover, the Rafah border crossing was run jointly by Egypt, Palestinian Authority forces and European Union observers, with surveillance cameras allowing Israel to monitor those passing through.

Abbas is due to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday after Cairo invited him for talks on Gaza. Hamas has confirmed it will also send an official delegation to Cairo to meet Egyptian officials the same day.

Egypt has tried in vain to seal the border and the United Nations estimated that at least 700,000 Gazans -- nearly half the population of 1.5 million -- have crossed since Wednesday.

Hamas armed forces on Sunday set up checkpoints in Rafah, preventing Gaza cars from entering Egypt, an AFP correspondent said.

Pedestrians were still allowed to cross freely, although persistent rain during the day reduced numbers, and cars from Egypt were also allowed to enter Gaza.

The large majority of Palestinians in Gaza depend on aid and the territory still relies on Israel for most of its electricity and industrial-grade diesel for its sole power plant.

The Israeli supreme court heard a petition by rights groups on Sunday asking that the state be ordered to restore fuel supplies to Gaza, but adjourned without issuing a ruling.

bur-jk/hc

Mideast