Israeli and Palestinian officials have clinched a long-awaited deal on Gaza border crossings following intense talks brokered by visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Radio said on Tuesday.

Rice praised the deal as a "big step forward" in strained Israeli-Palestinian relations. She personally presided over the final rounds of talks, which began late Monday night and dragged into early Tuesday morning.

Under the agreement, Palestinian customs officials will be stationed at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, with Israel inspecting goods passing through, and at the Rafah crossing there will be a communications center with videos filming people crossing the Egypt-Gaza border, the radio said.

The radio said the videos will be monitored by Israeli officials, and the European Union observers will have the final say when disputes arise over passage for persons Israel deems suspicious and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) believes should be allowed to cross.

Under the deal, the border will be tentatively opened on Nov. 25 and the Palestinians will be allowed to travel between the West Bank and Gaza in bus convoys through Israel, and the construction of a Gaza seaport will also begin.

The agreement gives the Palestinians control over a border for the first time and will provide a much-needed boost to the shattered Gaza economy. It also marks an important breakthrough for both sides, which so far have failed to capitalize on the peace momentum created by Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September.

Rafah crossing, the only exit for Gazans to the outside world, has been shut down since Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in mid-September.

Re-opening the crossing is expected to facilitate the free movement of Palestinian personnel and goods, which in turn will help revive the strangled economy in the largely impoverished coastal strip.

The deal also strengthens Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the Jan. 25 parliament elections, analysts said.

Negotiators met throughout the night at the Jerusalem hotel where Rice was staying, with Rice shuttling between the two sides. On Tuesday morning, she met with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to finalize the details.

Determined to make progress in the deadlocked talks on the issue, Rice had postponed her departure from the region late Monday, remaining in Jerusalem to hold further talks with officials from both sides.

Rice hoped that her trip to the Mideast region, her fourth this year, would capitalize on the fresh peace momentum raised by Israel's Gaza pullout and inject impetus to the moribund Mideast peace process.

Source: Xinhua