The order on Wednesday affects the immediate vicinity of the house in which at least 100 Jewish settlers have lived since 2007, but which the Israeli high court ordered evacuated on November 16.

"The sector around the house has been decreed a closed military zone," a military spokesman said.

He said that Israelis are barred from entering the Palestinian areas of the city.

The Haaretz daily suggested the order was part of preparations for a forceful eviction, which it said could be carried out by the end of the week.

Thirteen settler families, who have been facing eviction for 18 months, have vowed to resist an Israeli court order to leave the building in Hebron that they insist they bought from Palestinians.

The settler families have occupied the building, which they call the "house of peace", since March 2007.

The order was issued after a day of violence in Hebron, in which 20 Palestinians and 18 Israelis were injured, according to the Israeli media.

Settlers and Palestinians on Monday threw stones at each other, at least two cars belonging to Palestinians were set ablaze in what the Israeli army described as a "riot" and graves at a Muslim cemetery were desecrated.

Clashes frequently occur between both sides because of a settler enclave established in the heart of Hebron and a further 6,500-strong settlement living in Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of the city.


Agencies