Israel is leaning toward accepting an Egyptian proposal on the Rafah crossing at the Egypt- Gaza border, local newspaper Haaretz reported Tuesday on its website.

Senior government sources were quoted as saying that Egypt will announce the closure of the Rafah crossing for renovations that will last 6 to 9 months.

During this period, the border crossing for people and goods between the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza will be relocated to a new terminal built by Israel.

Once the renovations are completed, the Rafah border crossing will reopen solely for the passage of people, and will be monitored by European border inspectors.

Surveillance cameras will also be installed at the crossing, allowing Israel to keep track of who is entering the Gaza Strip.

Israel has agreed to allow Egypt to deploy forces along the Egypt-Gaza border after it evacuated all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank in August.

Israel is expected to withdraw its last soldiers by mid- September and hand over the demolished Gaza settlements to the Palestinian side next week.

Source: Xinhua