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JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – Israeli forces continued demolitions in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem as excavators escorted by Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian house Wednesday morning.

Witnesses told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers along with inspectors from the Jerusalem municipality stormed Wadi Qaddum area in Silwan in the early morning and blockaded the area before excavators razed a newly built apartment.

Wednesday's demolition comes as Silwan neighborhood residents face increasing pressures from the Israeli government to leave the area.

Last week Israeli forces flattened a massive three-story building allegedly built without a licence, as well as three stores in the Ein al-Luzah area of Silwan without prior notice. Several demolition orders were also distributed in the area.

Silwan is one of many Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem witness to an influx of Israeli settlers at the cost of ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes and eviction of Palestinian families.

While Jewish residents frequently take over Palestinian buildings with the protection of Israeli security, government policies make it near impossible for Palestinian residents to obtain building permits,according to the Israeli rights organization the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

Israeli settler organization Ateret Cohanim took over a building comprising three apartments in the central quarter of the Silwan neighborhood in early May.

The group is one of several organizations that legally buy out or illegally take over Palestinian properties in the area in order to increase the number of Jewish residents of primarily Palestinian neighborhoods.

Such organizations are often assisted and protected by Israeli forces during the process of taking over and moving into homes, the Israeli Ministry for Housing and Construction paying a record high of 100 million shekels ($26m) for private security to protect Jewish residents in 2014 alone.

The home owners or an Israeli police spokesperson have not responded for comment on Wednesday morning's demolition, however witnesses said the owners had finished the apartment only a few days ago and were preparing to move in shortly.