JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Monday condemned the Israeli demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.

In a statement, the Jeddah-based grouping described the demolitions as a "serious escalation that aims to change the demographic composition" of the holy city.

It called on the international community to force Israel to refrain from "its illegal practices and violations against the Palestinian people".

Early Monday, bulldozers accompanied by hundreds of Israeli soldiers moved into the neighborhood of Wadi Homs in East Jerusalem at dawn and began to raze several buildings in the area.

The Israeli army declared the area a military zone, preventing people and journalists from reaching it.

Israeli authorities claim that the buildings were constructed without a permit.

Last week, UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick and other UN officials called on Israel to halt the demolitions.

The EU also criticized the demolitions for undermining "the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace".

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s “eternal and undivided” capital.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East dispute, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.