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DATE=10/07/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL - PALESTINIANS (L)

NUMBER=2-267613

BYLINE=MEREDITH BUEL

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Israel has confirmed that Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon have captured three Israeli soldiers. V-O-A Correspondent Meredith Buel has details from Jerusalem.

TEXT: The Israeli Army has confirmed that three of its soldiers have been taken prisoner.

Hezbollah guerrillas say they captured the soldiers during fighting on the border with Lebanon.

The soldiers were captured under the cover of heavy rocket and machine gun fire in the disputed Shebaa Farms area in the Golan Heights. Israel exchanged fire with the guerrillas using helicopter gun ships and artillery.

Hezbollah released a statement indicating it captured the soldiers to support the large numbers of Palestinians taking part in recent clashes with Israeli security forces.

Hezbollah also wants the release of Lebanese detainees being held in Israeli jails.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is calling on Lebanon and Syria for an "immediate halt" to the hostilities. Syria has thousands of soldiers in Lebanon and is considered the major power broker in the country.

Mr. Barak called an emergency meeting of his cabinet to discuss the situation.

Nahman Shai is a spokesman for the Israeli government.

/// SHAI ACT ///

The government of Israel intends to take decisive action in order to ensure the safety of Israel's northern towns and villages.

/// END ACT ///

This is the first major incident since Israel withdrew its soldiers from southern Lebanon last May, ending more than 20 years of occupation.

Earlier, Israeli soldiers fired on hundreds of Palestinian refugees protesting at the Lebanese border, killing at least two of the demonstrators.

Witnesses say the Palestinian protestors were lobbing Molotov cocktails (firebombs), throwing stones and shouting slogans at an Israeli military post when the soldiers opened fire.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in refugee camps in Lebanon.

Also Saturday, Israeli soldiers evacuated a Jewish religious shrine in the West Bank town of Nablus that has been a key flash point during more than a week of violent clashes between Israel and the Palestinians.

In a statement, the Israeli Army says the evacuation took place "to decrease tension and violence in the area."

After the Israeli soldiers left, Palestinian gunmen and civilians stormed the shrine, setting it on fire. (Signed)

NEB/MB/ALW/PLM

TEXT:

NEB/ /