Grenades and gunfire have been heard in the West Bank city of Hebron after Israeli forces stormed a disputed building to remove Jewish settlers following days of clashes with Palestinians.

An Israeli police officer orders a group of Jewish settlers out of a house during the eviction of Jewish settlers from a disputed building in the West Bank city of Hebron on Dec. 4, 2008. Israeli police used teargas and clubs to remove dozens of hard-line Jewish settlers from the Palestinian home, prompting mobs to go on a rampage and attack Palestinians in the volatile city. Furious settlers fired shots, hurled rocks, set fire to Palestinian homes and fields, clashing with security forces following the eviction, carried out by about 100 officers.  REUTERS/Oren Ziv

Fires are burning across the city and witnesses said the settlers had set fire to a Palestinian home.
Palestinian medics said two Palestinians were treated after settlers opened fire on them.

The Israeli army declared the entire Hebron region a “closed military zone” on Thursday evening, barring entry to non-residents.

Up to 20 Israeli settlers and police were injured when Israeli police dragged settlers out of the building, which they have been occupying since March 2007.

The eviction took less than an hour to complete and was far less violent than anticipated beforehand.

Hundreds of settlers’ supporters and activists flocked to the area in the past week in solidarity with the occupants and tensions have been high.

Around 200 people were inside the house at the time of the eviction.

Settlers claim they have lawfully bought the Hebron house from a Palestinian, who denies selling the home.

On Nov. 16, the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered evacuation of the house until ownership is determined.

On Thursday morning, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, met settler leaders in a failed attempt to work out a compromise deal.

Barak said that the building, once evacuated, will be guarded by the Israeli army until the courts rule on its ownership.

Palestinians said on Thursday that Jewish settlers had sprayed graffiti on severalmosques in villages surrounding the city of Qalqilya. Some of the graffiti read “Regards from Hebron” and “Death to Arabs.”

The settlers are also accused of damaging Muslim gravesites and stoning Palestinian homes.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army declared the area surrounding the house a closed military zone and hundreds of police and army forces were deployed in Hebron.

Israeli military analysts said they feared the violence in Hebron could spread to other West Bank settlements as part of an organized uprising.

Thirteen settler families were living in the controversial house.

It is located in a key strategic location between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and the Cave of the Patriarchs, a holy site for Jews and Muslims.

— From Aljazeera English