The Israeli military on Monday ordered a group of settlers to evacuate a contested house in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, less than a week after they moved into the property. “After examining all the evidence that was handed over and after considering all the circumstances of the incident, it was decided to return to the situation which existed before,” said the military order, which was sent to the lawyer representing the settlers. “In other words: the state that existed before the settlers entered the house.” The order, which gives the settlers until 1200 GMT on Tuesday to evacuate the building, said the decision was based on “considerations of public order.” Last week, dozens of Israeli settlers moved into the second floor of a building, which they dubbed Beit Machpelah in an overnight operation on March 28. They said the property had been legally purchased, but relatives of the Palestinian owners, who live on the first floor, dispute the claim. Guy Inbar, spokesman for the Israeli Civil Administration which administers the West Bank, said all such purchases need official approval — which they did not obtain. “The purchase of a building by an Israeli from a Palestinian needs to be approved by the Civil Administration,” he told AFP. “Beit Machpelah did not request such permits, which is illegal, and for this reason they were asked to vacate the premises by tomorrow afternoon.” A closed military zone was put in place around the house, which is near the contested religious site known as the Cave of the Patriarchs to Jews and the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslims. David Wilder, spokesman for the Israeli settler community in Hebron, slammed the evacuation order as a “political decision. “The only reason written on the order is ‘breach of public order’ although we have documents (proving) that the house is ours,” he told AFP. “There are people who do not want Jews in Hebron. We intend to do everything to bring about the cancellation of the order.”