JERUSALEM (JTA) –  A house in Hebron whose Jewish residents were evacuated more than a year ago was legally purchased, an Israeli military appeals court ruled.

The appeals committee rejected claims by the Defense Ministry and Civil Administration that there were irregularities with the home’s purchase,  according to reports. The Civil Administration previously had denied the Hebron settlers permission to live in the house.

Several families, including some with young children, moved into the house in the middle of the night late last March, saying they had papers to prove its purchase. They were ordered evicted several days later on orders of former Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon must still issue an approval to allow the former Jewish residents to return to the  home.