JERUSALEM — Israeli forces on Friday evicted dozens of Jewish settlers from two buildings they moved into the day before in the heart of the flashpoint city of Hebron, near a shrine holy to both Jews and Muslims in the West Bank.

The troops removed 80 people and then closed access to the sites, a police spokesman said. The buildings will remain shut until the courts determine who owns them, he said.

Supporters of the group said the settlers had entered houses that were bought legally. Selling property to Israelis is considered taboo in Palestinian society and is against Palestinian law. Some sellers have been killed by Palestinian gunmen. Those Palestinians that do sell fear for their lives and usually flee the territory.

Hagit Ofran of Peace Now, an Israeli antisettlement group, said the Palestinian owners are denying any purchase and are going to file legal documents to prove it.

Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war. Palestinians demand the territory as part of their future state. Most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the territory as illegal or illegitimate.

Associated Press