Ramallah - The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Jamie McGoldrick, called on Friday for Israel to immediately halt the destruction of Palestinian property in East Jerusalem.

Demolitions in East Jerusalem have increased at an astonishing rate over the past month, leaving dozens of displaced Palestineans and others who lost their livelihoods overnight. This must stop, McGoldrick said.

The official stated that, until April 30, 2019, 111 Palestinean-owned structures in East Jerusalem were destroyed, either directly by Israeli authorities or by Palestineans themselves to avoid high fines, following the issuance of demolition orders for lack of building permits.

Of those buildings, 57 percent were destroyed in April, bringing the total number of demolitions in the West Bank to 214 so far in 2019, McGoldrick said.

On April 29 alone, Israeli authorities demolished 31 structures in multiple East Jerusalem neighborhoods, the highest number in a single day since the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began monitoring such acts in 2009.

Overall, more Palestineans were displaced in East Jerusalem in the first four months of 2019 than in the whole of 2018.