Israel has agreed in principle to an EU role in policing Gaza's volatile crossing with Egypt, Israeli officials said, while President Mahmoud Abbas insisted that it will take an international agreement to reopen the Rafah border. Securing the border took on more urgency when controls collapsed after Israel's pullout last week after 38 years of occupation. Tens of thousands of Palestinians swarmed into Egypt - most to visit relatives or shop, but some to smuggle arms. Speaking in Gaza, Abbas said: "The (border) terminal will be open when there is an international agreement. We want to do the right job at the right time because we want to act as a state, as a responsible authority." Abbas added: "Therefore, we are following up on the subject seriously with our brothers in Egypt. Until we reach agreement, we should be patient." Egypt and the Palestinian Authority have been pressing Israel to agree to third-party monitoring of border traffic as a way of re-opening the crossing.