The Israeli army demolished 33 Palestinian structures in the occupied East Jerusalem last month, a record number this year, an Israeli rights group has said.
The demolished buildings included 16 residential units and 17 non-residential structures, Ir Amim organisation said in a statement on Monday.
The demolitions brought the number of Palestinian buildings razed by Israel in the occupied city to 93, including 53 residential structures and 40 non-residential buildings, the group said.
Figures released by the Israeli group showed that 23 buildings were demolished in January, 15 in February, 14 in March, and 8 in April.
Israel widely uses the pretext of a lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes, as only a small number of permits are issued for Palestinians in East Jerusalem annually, according to Israeli, Palestinian, and international human rights organisations.
In contrast, there has been a rising number of permits issued by Israeli authorities for the construction of settlements on the territory of East Jerusalem.
During the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the Al Aqsa Mosque is located.
It illegally annexed the entire city in 1980, which was never recognised by the international community.
