Egypt wants Abbas staff back at border, warns Hamas

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt called on Hamas on Tuesday to allow Palestinian Authority personnel to oversee Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, and warned Palestinians in Gaza not to test Egypt's patience.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit called for reason to prevail within the leadership of Hamas in Gaza, the day after Palestinian gunmen and Egyptian forces exchanged fire at the Gaza-Egypt border, killing one person and wounding 59 others.

"We call on the authorities governing the (Gaza) Strip to allow observers and individuals from the Palestinian Authority to return once again to the crossing to oversee the implementation of (the 2005 border) agreement," he said.

"Egypt is generous and Egypt is patient. Egypt has its patience, but this patience undoubtedly has its limits," Aboul Gheit told reporters.

"Our Palestinian brothers must know that the battle is not with Egypt, but with Israel. So they should not fall into a trap concocted and laid by Israel," he said.

Aboul Gheit urged Hamas not to encourage Palestinians to approach the border, adding: "We must say that we cannot and will not accept provocations."

Hamas militants blasted open the border on Jan. 23 to let Gazans into Egypt to hunt food and supplies in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade.

Egypt's government does not want to be seen as aiding the Israeli blockade but is under U.S. and Israeli pressure to take control. It also fears the spread of Islamist influence and the effects of becoming home to so many undocumented Palestinians.

The Rafah crossing was run by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' forces under EU supervision and with Israeli security agents vetting travellers via video link.