Israeli authorities tore down two homes in the Silwan neighborhood on the outskirts of occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday, over claims that they were built without permission.

Bulldozers, escorted by heavily armed Israeli forces, advanced into the neighborhood, closing all roads before forcing the residents of both houses to evacuate their homes, according to Maan news. The forces threw military cordon around the two buildings before destroying them.

The homes belonged to Murad Abu Rajab and his son Raed, who said that the two houses were built just 14 months ago, adding that a court had decided to postpone their demolition, reported Maan news.

The family informed the officer in charge of the demolition of the postponement, but the forces carried out the demolitions anyway.

Statistics on the demolition of houses built without permits in East Jerusalem showed that in the last 18 years, the Jerusalem Municipality had demolished 730 houses, which resulted in the evacuation of 2,639 people, leaving them homeless. More than half of those people were children, according to B'Tselem.