By Turgut Alp Boyraz
JERUSALEM
Israeli army bulldozers early Tuesday demolished two Palestinian houses in Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, under the pretext of having been built illegally, a local NGO said.
"Israeli forces asked Palestinian families to evacuate their homes immediately. Four Palestinian families were living in the demolished houses," Jawad Siyam, head of the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, told Anadolu Agency.
"The Israeli bulldozers razed the houses under the pretext that the houses had been built without permit, even without producing a demolishing order,” he added.
According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli authorities demolished more than 406 Palestinian homes, leaving 709 Palestinians displaced, in the West Bank and Jerusalem since the beginning of the year.
Palestinian officials accuse Israeli authorities of launching a relentless campaign to seize the Silwan neighborhood, located a few hundred meters away from Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
In the last two months, Jewish settlers seized nine residential buildings in the neighborhood under the protection of Israeli police.
Palestinians fear that the seizure of residential units in Silwan is part of an Israeli project that aims to Judaize the Palestinian neighborhood.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city of Jerusalem in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
Sacred to both Muslims and Jews, Jerusalem is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which for Muslims represents the world's third holiest site. Jews refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories," considering all Jewish settlement building on the land illegal.
Palestinians complain that Israeli municipal authorities impose tight restrictions on the building and renovation of Palestinian homes in the holy city.
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