JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Jerusalem municipality demolished what it called two illegal buildings in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood.
The buildings taken down early Tuesday were in Abu Tor, a mixed Arab and Jewish neighborhood.
Palestinian families were living on the first floors of both buildings, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.
“The municipality enforces the law against illegal building equally, in all parts of the city,” the Jerusalem municipality said in a statement.
The buildings were considered “unoccupied and unfinished,” the statement said, and were erected in areas where construction is prohibited.
The neighborhood has been the site of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in recent weeks. The violence has escalated in the past week after the alleged shooter of a Temple Mount activist was killed in a raid by Israel Police.
The activist, Rabbi Yehuda Glick, is in serious condition in a Jerusalem hospital.
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