The Israeli Supreme Court on Monday ordered the state to find a housing solution for 27 Palestinian families living in a soon-to-be demolished West Bank village.

The Civil Administration (CA), the army body governing the West Bank, called the demolition of the village of Zanuta in the southern Hebron hills since it is located on the top of an archaeological site.

Zanuta, along with other nearby Palestinian villages, has existed as a cave-settlement before Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 war.

"Most of the tents and shelters in Zanuta are located (atop) an archaeological site," archeologist Dr. Avi Ofer told the Ha'aretz daily.

Village residents in 2007 petitioned the state to complete an alternative construction plan for the village. Since there is not a building master plan, the village is built out of mainly improvised structures, located on top of the archeological site.

Were the planning to be approved, the CA's demolition orders over the improvised structures would be reversed, and the construction would be permitted in accordance with factors like natural growth.

The court on Monday gave the government 30 days to come up with a workable solution for the village's residents and clarify whether they plan to approve building on the site.

The residents' representatives argued that they deserve a proper home.

"The residents of the town have been here since before 1967, and therefore it is the army's duty to authorize the construction in the location and supply a solution for them," said attorney Nira Shalev.

She also charged that there are Jewish settlements built on archeological sites, like Tel Rumeida in Hebron and the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem.

On the other hand, state legal representative Yitzhak Bar said there is no possibility of authorizing building in the village, and it is not the military's authority to find a housing solution.

However, Judge Hanan Meltzer responded that "We don't know where these citizens will go, and the military governor's role is to find the solution."

Judge Edna Arbel agreed with Meltzer, adding that "It is advisable to think in advance where they will go, not afterwards."

Israeli archaeologist Avi Ofer, whose expertise is in Judean desert sites, told the newspaper that "to the best of my knowledge and expertise, the customary position of the State of Israel in these instances is to permit continued residence in the place yet to stipulate that any expansion or change will require archaeological examination."

In the past year, the Supreme Court weighed the state's requests to demolish at least 12 Palestinian villages south of Hebron located in Area C, which is under Israeli military and civilian control. The state wants the residents to move to Areas A and B in the West Bank, which are under Palestinian civil control.