Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said Tuesday that the municipality is putting off a plan to demolish homes built without permits in an Arab neighborhood slated to be the site of a new archaeology park. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked Barkat Tuesday to 'allow more time for efforts to reach an understanding with the residents' and warned of 'elements which are interested in sowing strife and discord' over the city's plan. 'This is a plan that takes into consideration the needs of the residents,' Barkat said in a press conference in Jerusalem's city hall. 'There are extremists who whatever we do will try to twist the plan and accuse us of wrongdoing.' The demolition of unauthorized Arab construction in parts of Jerusalem has been a source of tension between Israel and the international community, including the United States and European Union. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in August that 'the eviction of families and demolition of homes in East Jerusalem is not in keeping with Israeli obligations.' Ir Amim, a group that advocates on behalf of Arab property rights in the city, said in an e-mailed statement that demolishing homes in the east Jerusalem Silwan neighborhood 'to clear the area for an archaeological garden will be a dangerous step, which could ignite one of the most volatile areas, and damage the stability and political future of Jerusalem.' Barkat had said that Arab residents evicted from homes that are to be demolished in Silwan would be offered housing elsewhere in the area. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and subsequently annexed it, a move that has not been recognized by the international community. Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. 