JERUSALEM: Israel has demolished buildings inanarea ofannexedeast Jerusalem located near some of the city`s most important holy sites, prompting concern from Palestinian residents, activists and foreign governments.

`They are trying to break us,` said Fakhri Abu Diab, a resident of Silwan neighbourhood where Israeli police forces on Wednesday demolished a cultural centre and a protest encampment, citing unauthorised construction.

They were located in Silwan`s Al-Bustan area, near Jerusalem`s Old City that is home to multiple religious sites, and where Israeli settler activity has intensified in recent years.

`It is from here that messages to our community and to the world emanated,` said Abu Diab, whose home, along with several others, was destroyed in another demolition last week.

He said the Israelis `wanted to cut off the head` of the anti-settlement movement in east Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognised by the United Nations.

Anti-settlement group Ir Amim said that `this area has for years been under concerted state and settler pressure due to the historical assets within its bounds and its proximity to the Haram al-Sharif/ Temple Mount and the Old City`, revered by both Muslims and Jews.

Israeli authorities have declared part of Silwan a `protected` zone where they plan to create a tourist park on the area of several Jewish religious sites.

The Jerusalem municipality has cited court decisions ordering the demolition of the Al-Bustan structures deemed in breach of zoning regulations.

But, according to Ir Amim, the demolitions aim to connect Israeli settlers in Palestinian neighbourhoods of east Jerusalem to the city`s Jewish-majority west.-AFP