OFRA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces are demolishing nine homes in the heart of the West Bank settlement of Ofra after the Supreme Court ruled they were built on private Palestinian land.

Construction vehicles smashed walls Wednesday a day after police wrestled with protesting residents.

Netzach Brodt watched as his house was destroyed and said, "We are extremely disappointed and broken that this house is being torn down."

The international community mostly views settlements as an obstacle to creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel in territory it captured in the 1967 war.

Last month forces uprooted nearby Amona, a community that had become a symbol of the settlement movement.

The moves created tension in the coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is caught between appeasing his pro-settler coalition allies and respecting court rulings.