Israeli demonstrators and police clashed with rock-throwing Palestinians Sunday in occupied East Jerusalem, as thousands of Jewish nationalists marched through the city to mark the 48th anniversary of its capture.
Police estimated that some 30,000 Israelis marched through the Old City's mainly Muslim quarter to the Western Wall to commemorate Israel's 1967 capture of East Jerusalem from Jordan in the Six-Day War. Several police were reported injured and at least six Palestinians were arrested in the confrontations.
Jewish demonstrators danced and chanted "Long live Israel," while small groups of Palestinians waved Palestinian flags and chanted "....We will redeem Palestine."
The Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem has not been recognized internationally.
But Israel views all of Jerusalem, including the Old City, as its eternal capital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out any compromise on the issue.
Palestinians, who account for more than 30 percent of the city's overall population, want the eastern sector as the capital of a future state, and fiercely oppose Israeli attempts to maintain and extend control there.
The annual march continues to spark controversy within Israel, with nationalists and their supporters vowing the city will never again be divided.
On Facebook Sunday, the chairwoman of the leftist Meretz Party, Zehava Gal-On, condemned the flag-waving march, calling it "a violent, racist act of provocation against Arab residents."
