ISRAELI police are preparing the way for retaliatory house demolitions in East Jerusalem, human rights group B’Tselem warned yesterday.

The Israeli group said police had visited four homes belonging to relatives of alleged Palestinian attackers.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that his forces were now prepared to carry out house destructions or sealings “as soon as a final government decision is given.”

He did not say how many homes would be demolished but claimed the government had already sent notices to the families of Palestinians allegedly implicated in attacks against Israelis, telling them to vacate their homes ahead of impending demolition.

The military confirmed that an unspecified number of notices warning of impending house demolitions have been issued to West Bank families in recent week.

It said that the families had 48 hours to appeal against the notices and warned that should they fail to do so — or should their petitions be rejected — the houses would become subject to immediate demolition.

The demolitions are based on instructions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who earlier this month threatened that the home destruction policy would be implemented in response to Palestinian attacks against Israelis in Jerusalem following clashes over the disputed Temple Mount site.

B’Tselem denounced the punitive demolitions policy that has recently been revived and accelerated after some years in which its use declined.