The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), accompanied by municipal bulldozers, stormed the Al-Bustan neighborhood in the town of Silwan Tuesday, following the expiry of their unlawful deadline for the demolition of 17 homes.

The IOF closed off all roads leading to Al-Bustan, surrounded the houses threatened with demolition, prevented movement in the area, and besieged a commercial store in preparation for demolishing it in Al-Ain Street in Silwan.

The IOF stood, protecting and gaurding the bulldozers and heavy equipment used in demolishing Palestinian homes.

Earlier June, the Israeli Occupation in Jerusalem sent notifications of renewal of house demolition notices belonging to 13 out of the 17 families in Al-Bustan.

The Palestinian homes are among 86 homes that the Israeli Occupation courts had issued demolition orders against without specifying specific dates for the destruction.

The Israeli Occupation said if the 13 houses are not demolished by the deadline, they would demolish the houses themselves and issue fines for demolition costs.

This is part of the policy of ethnic cleansing and liquidation of the Palestinian presence in neighborhoods near Al-Aqsa Mosque which aims to change the demographic structure and increase the number of settlers in Jerusalem.

Notably, The State of Palestine said Tuesday that it is disappointed with the lack of international action towards the looming forced dispossession of Palestinians from their homes and lands in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.

“The mass forcible displacement of families of Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, and other areas, is emblematic of [the Israeli Occupation's] colonial regime under which, the crimes of apartheid and persecutions are committed. [Their] impunity and criminality are untenable,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in a statement.