The European Union agreed on Monday to extend its mission monitoring the sensitive Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt for 12 more months with the option of a further six months, officials said.

Ninety EU monitors have been overseeing the Rafah crossing with Egypt under an agreement that took effect in November 2005 to help open up Gaza after Israel withdrew from the strip in September of that year. Israel often shuts down the terminal, citing security threats.

Israel had wanted EU monitors to take on greater powers for carrying out arrests and confiscating money and items that could be used in weapons, but EU diplomats said the mandate of the extended mission will be unaltered.

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"The Palestinians are responsible for the border. What we have to do is to ensure that the way the Palestinian police act is in accordance with the Israeli-Palestinian agreement," An EU official said.

The EU has stationed military monitors at the crossing and provided X-ray machines, metal detectors, communications gear and other equipment.

The Gaza-Egypt border is a major transit point for militants and weapons. Yet the crossing is seen as vital for Gazans, and a recent World Bank report highlighted its importance to the Palestinian economy.