JERUSALEM, May 17, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished two Palestinian-owned homes in Wadi al-Jouz neighborhood in Jerusalem, under the pretext of construction without a permit, according to local sources.

The sources said that Israeli troops accompanied by heavy machinery broke into Wadi al-Jouz neighborhood in the early morning, before they proceeded to demolish the two homes.

To be noted, Israeli authorities rarely issue construction permits to the original Palestinian inhabitants of Jerusalem, forcing many of them to embark on construction without an Israeli permit.

Over the course of 2015, Israel demolished 521 structures in Area C as well as in East Jerusalem, displacing 636 people, according to the UN monitoring group OCHA. The vast majority of these demolitions were carried out on the grounds of construction without a permit.

Between 2010 and 2014, only 1.5 percent of applications for building permits in Area C were approved by Israeli occupation authorities, OCHA adds.

M.N