Settlers have recently been trying to purchase two more Palestinian houses in Hebron. The houses are located near "the brown house," a building inhabited by Jewish squatters whom Defense Minister Amir Peretz has ordered evicted in another two and a half weeks.

From the settlers' perspective, the brown house is strategically located, as it is near the road leading from Kiryat Arba to the Cave of the Patriarchs.

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The purchase of other houses nearby would create an area of Jewish control that would further the settlers' goal of creating territorial contiguity between the Jewish settlements of Kiryat Arba and Hebron.

Peretz ordered the brown house vacated on April 10, but the procedure will take about a month: First, the squatters were given 15 days to evacuate voluntarily; then, this period was extended by another 15 days. However, the settlers do not intend to leave voluntarily and have vowed to fight. They claim that they bought the house legally from its Palestinian owners for $700,000, though the owners deny this.

It is still unclear whether the evacuation will take place as planned, however, since several members of the ruling Kadima Party oppose it, and the army is also unenthusiastic.