51.   Israel has since eased the closure.

52.   Israel on Sunday eased a closure imposed on Palestinians after a series of bombing attacks, allowing thousands of Palestinians to return to their jobs, an official said.

53.   Israel, meanwhile, began easing the closure it had imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the bombing.

54.   Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer has said he would try to ease closures in quiet areas but tighten restrictions on towns giving shelter to those attacking Israelis.

55.   Israeli officials, meanwhile, said they would consider easing the closure to enable Ramadan observance.

56.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would only ease the closure once Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat reined in Islamic militants.

57.   It was not clear whether the closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be eased.

58.   It began easing the closure Tuesday after reports surfaced that the Palestinians had caught the assailants.

59.   Meanwhile, several thousand Palestinians returned to jobs in Israel after Israel eased the closure imposed on the West Bank and Gaza after the market bombing.

60.   Mordechai had said the closure would be eased after Passover, which ended Monday at sundown.