About 2,500 police officers had been deployed to guard the annual flag march. The celebration commemorates Israel's victory in the 1976 Six-Day War and the subsequent occupation of East Jerusalem.
The day is a national holiday in Israel and the accompanying march has increasingly become a show of strength for Jewish nationalists. For the Palestinians, it instead constitutes a provocation aimed at undermining their ties to the city, Reuters writes.
Anti-Arab slogans
Among other things, the participants march through Damascus Gate, the entrance to the area's Muslim quarter in the oldest part of the city.
Several participants reportedly chanted anti-Arab slogans during the day. A number of participants were also seen wearing clothes belonging to Lehava – a far-right group that opposes assimilation in Israel, Reuters writes.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, a Palestinian man was beaten by an Israeli participant and one of the newspaper's reporters was injured after receiving a stone in the head.
According to the newspaper, stones and bottles have also been thrown at other journalists at the scene. However, no one should have sustained more serious injuries.
Incitement to confrontation
In parallel with the march in Jerusalem, a Palestinian march was organized in Gaza near the border with Israel. The terrorist organization Hamas had called in advance on Palestinians to confront the Israeli march.
Two years ago, violence on Jerusalem Day degenerated into eleven days of unrest.