JERUSALEM (Agencies) - The Palestinian Authority accused Israel on Thursday of ethnic cleansing after it delivered dozens of eviction orders to residents of annexed, mostly Arab east Jerusalem. "We are witnessing an unprecedented escalation on the part of the occupation government and what they call the Jerusalem municipality against Palestinian presence in Jerusalem," said Nabil Abu Rudeina. The spokesman of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas referred specifically to "the destruction of dozens of homes and eviction orders to demolish dozens more. "It is an organised campaign of ethnic cleansing," he added. Last month Palestinian officials and residents told AFP that Israel had ordered hundreds of Palestinians to leave their homes in annexed east Jerusalem, warning their houses are illegal. According to Hatem Abdel Kader, an official responsible for Jerusalem affairs in the Palestinian government, 1,500 people are currently living in threatened houses in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood abutting the Old City. He said several of the houses served with demolition orders were built before 1967, when Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six-Day War but that numerous extensions have been built since. The eviction orders have also triggered United Nations concerns, according to Richard Miron, spokesman for the UN Special Coordinator's Office in Jerusalem. "We are very concerned about continuing actions by Israel in east Jerusalem, including threats of further evictions and house demolitions in several Palestinian neighbourhoods in the city," Miron told AFP. "These actions harm ordinary Palestinians, heighten tensions in the city, undermine efforts to build trust and promote negotiations, and are contrary to international law and Israel's commitments," he said. "We urge Israel to heed the calls of the international community to halt these unacceptable actions." Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers have described wanton killings of Palestinian civilians and destruction of property during the deadly 22-day Gaza war, according to a journal published on Thursday. One soldier spoke of an Israeli sharpshooter killing a Palestinian mother and her two children who had left their home on a path the troops had declared off-limits, according to the journal of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military academy. The publication, quoting graduates of the college, also cited the case of an elderly Palestinian woman killed as she was walking 100 metres from her home. Soldiers also spoke of civilians being abused, acts of vandalism and destruction of homes. "Those were very harsh testimonies about unjustified shooting of civilians and destruction of property that conveyed an atmosphere in which one feels entitled to use unrestricted force against Palestinians," academy director Dany Zamir told public radio. The army said the Military Advocate-General has ordered the military police to investigate the claims. Israel's Yesh Din human rights group called for an independent inquiry. "Until today, about six weeks since the end of military operations in Gaza, not a single criminal investigation has begun despite hundreds of testimonies which raise suspicion about violations of international law and of war crimes," Yesh Din said in a statement. "If these orders were given as described in the testimonies, then both the issuing of the orders and their implementation are criminal offences. If Israel does not investigate its own offences, other countries will have to," it said. Public radio's legal commentator Moshe Hanegbi said the investigation should not be conducted by the military "as it would not be credible at a time when Israel is accused of war crimes, and officers could be tried abroad."