Clashes erupt as ultra-nationalistic parade marches through Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter

Tens of thousands of ultra-nationalist Jews marched Sunday through east Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter, sparking scuffles between Palestinians and the police.

The controversial march celebrated Israel's 48 Jerusalem Day, marking the "reunification" of the city after Israel seized the Arab eastern part of the city during the 1967 Mideast War.

They waved Israeli flags from West Jerusalem via the Palestinian Muslim Quarter in East Jerusalem en route to the Western Wall, demonstrating Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Xinhua that by nightfall, four policemen were injured and five people were arrested as clashes erupted between Jews and Palestinians, then later between Palestinians and the police.

Police on horseback dispersed dozens of Palestinians protesting against the march near Damascus Gate.

"Over 3,000 policemen were deployed across the Old City's Muslim Quarter to keep the peace in the city," Rosenfeld added.

Hundreds of Israeli activists in a group called "Jerusalem Won't Tolerate Racism" rallied by the Jerusalem municipality in a counter-demonstration against what they called the "march of hate."

Organizers said the march became a focus of violence, with marchers shouting racist slurs such as "Death to Arabs," spitting, pushing and vandalizing Palestinian property.

"We are here to say loud and clear: the parade, with all its hatred and violence, is not legitimate," Sharon Goldberg, an organizer of the rally, told Xinhua.

Israel's Supreme Court Monday rejected a petition by Israeli anti-racist groups Ir Amim and Tag Meir ("Spreading the Light") to reroute the march.

"For us, it's a very difficult event," Ahmed Sub Laban, resident of Jerusalem's Old City, told Xinhua, noting that on Sunday morning, as in previous years, police handed out flyers urging the Palestinians to close shop and stay home an hour before the parade until its end.

This year's march comes amid soaring violence between Israelis and Palestinians over access to the al-Aqsa compound.

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the official Jerusalem Day ceremony at the Ammunition Hill National Memorial Site in Jerusalem.

In a broadcast speech, Rivlin noted the simmering tensions in the city, saying that "first and foremost, Jerusalem belongs to all of its residents, secular and ultra-Orthodox, Arab and Jews."

Israel annexed the Arab eastern Jerusalem and "unified" the city in 1980, in a move that was not acknowledged by the international community.

The annexation became a major hurdle in peace negotiations. Palestinians demand a state with Jerusalem as its capital. Endit