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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- The Israeli municipality on Wednesday distributed demolition orders to several houses, some as old as 30 years, in the Silwan neighborhood for "building without permits."

Member of the committee for the defense of Silwan lands and estates Fakhri Abu Diab told Ma'an that municipality workers distributed 11 orders for houses in the al-Hara al-Wosta, al-Bustan, Wadi al-Rababa, Ein al-Lawza, and al-Jisr areas which would leave 70 people homeless.

The houses belong to the Abu Sneineh, Awwad, Abbasi, Odeh, Al-Rishq, Abdo and Samareen families.

Abu Diab said that in the past few days more and more orders have been distributed, and in some cases the houses were built before the 1967 occupation of Jerusalem.

Abu Diab added that over 62 percent of houses in Silwan are under the threat of demolition, after orders were "randomly" distributed as "collective punishment," which he says aims to displace the residents and control the neighborhood.

Abu Diab explained that some houses which were taken over by settlers were built without permits but none of them received demolition orders.