Jerusalem: At least five Palestinians were arrested during fresh clashes overnight today in east Jerusalem, where hundreds of extra police have been deployed to tackle mounting unrest, authorities said.
The clashes were especially intense in the flashpoint Silwan neighbourhood, an area near the Old City that was the home of Abdelrahman Shaludi, the Palestinian driver who ploughed into a Jerusalem crowd, killing an Israeli baby.
Police dispersed gangs of stone-throwing protesters in Silwan overnight, spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP, adding that there was scattered unrest again today morning.
"At least 400-500" extra police units have been deployed "to prevent and respond to any incident," Rosenfeld said.
Tensions have been rising ahead of tonight's funeral for Shaludi, which is due to take place around 11:00 pm (0230 IST) near Jerusalem's Old City walls.
Shaludi killed a three-month-old girl and wounded six others when he drove at high speed into a crowd of Israelis on Wednesday, before being shot by police as he fled on foot.
Tensions have been running high since the incident, with nightly clashes across Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, and were stoked further after the army shot dead a protesting West Bank teenager on Friday.
