JERUSALEM, May 1 (UPI) -- The United Nations says the Israeli government should stop the demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.

U.N. officials said in a new report that the Israeli government needs to solve the Jerusalem housing crisis caused by the demolition of Palestinian-owned homes amid claims they were constructed without required permits, The New York Times said Friday.

Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967, but the United Nations has never officially recognized Israel's claim of annexation of the area into the whole of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Palestinians allege East Jerusalem should serve as the capital of the Palestinian state they are seeking to create.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in the report only 13 percent of East Jerusalem has been zoned by Israel for Palestinian construction projects. Since a sizable portion of the land has already been filled with sites, new Palestinian projects struggle to obtain required permits before building, the report said.

The report says that since 1967, Israel has expropriated more than a third of East Jerusalem land for Israeli projects while tabbing 22 percent for public infrastructure and green areas. The remaining 30 percent remains unplanned.