The Jerusalem District Court over the weekend ordered Jewish residents and the company Tal Construction and Development of Karnei Shomron to vacate and remove any operations from a residence in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron within a month.

Judge Ram Vinograd rejected the company´s and Moshe Zar´s claims that ownership of the land had been acquired through a Palestinian intermediary, according to Israel Radio.

The Court held that the company´s claims were baseless and that it had failed to prove that it had acquired the land.

According to the report, Judge Vinograd also raised questions as to the veracity of the signature of the original owner on the documents allegedly transferring ownership from the original owner to the Palestinian intermediary that the company claims it bought the property from.

The ruling comes in the wake of Defense Minister Ehud Barak´s order earlier this month to evict families from "Beit Hamachpela" in Hebron because they lacked the necessary permits and because he determined that their presence in the otherwise Palestinian neighborhood was a threat to public order.

The incident represented another situation where a group of Jews moved into a residence in a Palestinian neighborhood in Hebron under disputed circumstances and were ordered to leave, although in the current case the eviction order comes from a court.

Subsquently, MK Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi) gave Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu alleged proof that the disputed Hebron apartment building was purchased from its Palestinian owner.

The Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria and Border Police are also investigating the legality of the sale, with specific concerns over if the Palestinian in question had full ownership rights to the property.

In a statement he sent to the media, Orlev said he planned to ask Netanyahu to conclude the investigation into the sale within 30 days of the March 29 entry of the families into the structure. Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report. (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 04/22/12)