There were no reported injuries in the
incident in the volatile Silwan neighborhood, where tensions have flared
between Palestinians and a small group of settlers who have moved there in the
past two decades.
Local residents said settlers tried to
reach a spring, which religious Jews view as a biblical site, by crossing
through a mosque courtyard.
Israeli police said Palestinians then
took to the streets in violent demonstrations, throwing rocks and firebombs at
police and vehicles, burning six cars.
Israel captured East Jerusalem along
with the West Bank in a 1967 war and regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, a
claim that is not recognized internationally. Palestinians want East Jerusalem
as the capital of the state they intend to establish in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.