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DATE=10/07/2000

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT- (L ONLY )

TITLE=ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS

NUMBER=2-267601

BYLINE=JENNY BADNER

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Israel has withdrawn its forces from a key flashpoint in the West Bank which has been the site of more than a week of clashes that has left at least 77 people dead. Jenny Badner reports from Jerusalem.

TEXT: Israel has pulled out its forces from Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish religious shrine in the West Bank town of Nablus which has been a key flashpoint during more than a week of violent clashes.

In a statement, the Israeli Army said the evacuation took place in response to a desire by both sides "to decrease tension and violence in the area."

The decision, which has been termed a "temporary evacuation" was ordered by Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Barak following the recommendation of Israel's Chief of Staff, Shaul Mofaz.

The Israeli Army said responsibility for guarding the area was handed over to the Palestinian Authority.

Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish site that also houses a seminary, had posed a military problem for Israel since Israeli forces guarding the area were surrounded by a Palestinian security zone.

Last week, an Israeli border policeman bled to death during the clashes when Palestinian gunmen stopped an ambulance from reaching the enclave for hours.

At least six Palestinians were killed in the violence near Joseph's Tomb, one of the key flashpoints in the latest violence.

The move to withdraw troops from around the Tomb follows another day of Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip that increased the death toll from nine days of violence to more than 75, almost all of them Palestinians.

Although Israel annually closes the checkpoint from the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the upcoming Yom Kippur holiday, Israel closed the border earlier than usual this year to prevent violence on what Muslim militants called a "day of rage".

Confrontations broke out in Jerusalem's Old City and mostly Arab east Jerusalem after about 20-thousand Muslims completed prayers at the contested al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Although Israel had limited its police presence to minimize tension in the spot that saw the start of the violence last week, police shot rubber tipped metal bullets and used tear gas to disperse Palestinian demonstrators throwing stones.

During the riots, an Israel police station in the Old City was set on fire.

The evacuation of Joseph's tomb is likely to be protested by Israeli settlers and right wing leaders. Some Jews believe the site is the tomb of the biblical patriarch, but most archaeologists dismiss that claim. Signed.

NEB/JB/PFH