Israel moves on Gaza crossing after US pressure

JERUSALEM, Oct 5 (Reuters) Israel, under pressure from the United States, agreed to marginally loosen restrictions at Gaza's border crossing with Egypt today, but did not make any long-term commitment to keep the frontier open.

In a statement after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left Jerusalem to continue a regional tour, the State Department said Israel agreed to open Rafah crossing at ''regular intervals'' during the current Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The statement did not specify what those intervals would be or how long they would last.

''We are encouraged by this decision, the first step towards restoration of normal operations at the crossing,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters travelling with Rice.

Rafah has been closed for much of this year, and has been open for only 12 days since an Israeli soldier was captured by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid on June 25th.

Rice, who personally brokered a deal with Israel in November last year to try to keep Gaza's border crossings open, had pressed Israeli leaders on the issue during extensive talks in an effort to secure at least some success in her two-day visit.

As well as limited moves on Rafah, Rice also did not appear to make much progress in attempts to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is locked in a debilitating power struggle with Hamas, the Islamist group running the government.

It remains unclear what Abbas plans to do with the Hamas-led administration, which he has threatened to dissolve in the face of a Western aid embargo and unsuccessful attempts to form a unity government Palestinians hope could ease the sanctions.

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