Fresh clashes erupt in Jerusalem

Fresh clashes have erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police in the Arab neighbourhoods of east Jerusalem.

At the Shuafat refugee camp Friday, scores of Palestinian youth threw rocks at the police and burnt tires and trash bins, Xinhua reported.

Police fought back with tear gas canisters and stun grenades.

Earlier, a symbolic funeral procession was held for Shuafat refugee camp resident Ibrahim al-Akri, who rammed his van into pedestrians in Jerusalem Wednesday, leaving two people dead.

Al-Akri was shot dead at the scene by Israeli police.

Jerusalem also saw disturbances in the Old City, police said.

In the Old City's Muslim Quarter, youths threw stones and firecrackers at forces on Friday morning and two people, including a minor, were arrested.

A total of 12 were arrested Thursday night, according to police, with more than 200 arrested in the past two weeks.

Hamas Thursday urged Palestinians throughout the West Bank to participate in marches at the end of afternoon prayers in order to protect Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque from the "Zionist siege".

Some 1,300 Israeli riot police were deployed Friday in Jerusalem's Old City to prevent violence, and Muslim men under the age of 35 were barred from praying at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City.