Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said Friday that settlers occupying a vacant Palestinian building in Hebron will be removed from the structure by April 19, one month after they entered the site.

In an interview with Army Radio, Sneh settlers' needed the authorization of the defense establishment in order to enter the site, regardless of the issue of ownership of the building.

Sneh added that the settlers' action was in essence an expansion of the Jewish settlement in Hebron - an action that requires cabinet approval.

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"The selection of this building was not incidental," said Sneh. "This building is not next to other settler homes in Hebron. It is part of these people's strategic attempt to change the internal situation in Hebron."

Defense Minister Amir Peretz decided Thursday that Jewish settlers must leave a disputed house in the West Bank city of Hebron, but gave no deadline for their evacuation.

Peretz added that government legal advisers would now have to determine the legal process for evacuating the settlers.

The settlers moved into the house in an Arab neighborhood of Hebron on March 19, claiming to have purchased it from its Palestinians owners.

The legal status of the four-story building has yet to be clarified, but Peretz ordered the settlers to leave because they had not received the Defense Ministry's permission, a Defense Ministry official said.

In a text message sent to journalists, the Yesha Council of Settlements, which represents the settlers, said it would fight the decision.

Hebron, a frequent flashpoint for tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, is home to about 500 Jewish settlers living in heavily-guarded enclaves among some 160,000 Palestinians.