The rare freedom that tens of thousands of Palestinians have enjoyed for nearly a week may soon be curbed again.

Egyptian forces, the Palestinian president and the Israeli government are all maneuvering for control of the Rafah border.

It's now five days since the fence running between Gaza and Egypt was brought down by explosives, allowing Palestinian residents of Gaza to cross at will in search of supplies.

Egypt has vowed to regain control of its border with the enclave.

As extra security arrives and shops close there, diplomatic efforts have been under way in Cairo and Jerusalem.

Both Hamas and Fatah have accepted invitations to hold separate talks with the Egyptian government to discuss the situation.

Olmert-Abbas talks

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, held crisis talks on Sunday in Jerusalem on the border breach.

An Israeli official said: "[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."

He said Israel and Egypt were also in talks on how to reseal the border with Gaza.

Abbas reportedly wants to take over Gaza's border crossings, including the one at Rafah.

Israel has so far resisted the idea, citing concerns about security.

Until the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June last year, the Rafah crossing was run jointly by Egypt, Palestinian Authority forces and European observers, with surveillance cameras allowing Israel to monitor those passing through.

"Egypt will take necessary actions and measures to control the border in Gaza soon," Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egypt's foreign minister, said on Sunday after a meeting in Cairo with Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister.

Need for consensus

For his part, Fayyad said: "I believe there is a need, and also a consensus, to support the trend backed by the international community, that is to reopen the border crossings and to restore their administration to the Palestinian Authority.

"This will be a step to enable us to end not only the suffering, but also the siege imposed on Gaza Strip."

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said: "We are interested in offering the alternative and that is the opening of the Rafah border crossing, and for that we call upon the Egyptian leaders to take an urgent and quick decision regarding the subject matter."

Al Jazeera quoted Hamas sources as saying that Khaled Meshaal, the group's political bureau chief, has arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh at the head of a delegation.

The visit comes as Arab foreign ministers kick off a meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza.

Fuel shipments

In related news, Israel may be obliged to resume fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip.

The move was approved by the Israeli supreme court on Sunday as it heard a case regarding the legality of the siege.

Haaretz, the Israeli daily, said the country's highest court held a hearing to discuss a petition filed by several human-rights organizations against the reduction in Israeli fuel and gas shipments to Gaza.

However, the government previously contested the resumption of fuel.

It said that the levels soon to be shipped into Gaza are "the minimum required in order to meet the basic humanitarian needs of the strip's civilian population".

People in Gaza have suffered shortages of power, fuel and basic goods.

Immense pressure

Al Jazeera's David Chater, reporting from Jerusalem, said the decision means that the immense pressure placed on the Palestinians in Gaza will be reduced.

He said: "This will also have an effect on the developments in the Rafah crossing."

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, said that the Egyptian government is using economic means to restrict the flow of Palestinians across the border.

She said: "Shops in Rafah, as well as in the town of El-Arish, 50km from Rafah, have been ordered to close for business.

"However, as we have seen for the past few days, the sense of freedom felt by the Palestinians is something they will not easily give up."

Hamas armed forces on Sunday set up checkpoints in Rafah, preventing cars from Gaza from entering Egypt, a correspondent of the AFP news agency said.

Pedestrians were still allowed to cross freely, although persistent rain during the day reduced numbers.

Meanwhile, Egyptian forces moved to close the border by stopping vehicles and further tightening their security cordon around the town of Rafah.

Security guards blocked one of the gaps carved into the border wall with piles of sand and border police were stopping cars with Palestinian number plates from entering Egypt and Egyptians cars from crossing into Gaza.

Lorries stopped

In a related development, dozens of Egyptian lorries loaded with goods were blocked on Sunday from crossing into the Sinai.

The vehicles, ranging from small pickup trucks to large lorries, lined the road leading up to the Mubarak peace bridge which crosses the Suez Canal into the Sinai.

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

PHOTO CAPTION

Bulldozer at Gaza-Egypt border