14 May 2011 - 19:30

Israeli police and army were on high alert on Sunday as Palestinians began marking the "Nakba" of Israel's 1948 creation, a day after a teen died from injuries in clashes to mark the date.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Israeli police and army were on high alert on Sunday as Palestinians began marking the "Nakba" of Israel's 1948 creation, a day after a teen died from injuries in clashes to mark the date.

Thousands of police were deployed in Jerusalem as well as in Arab areas in the north ahead of events to mark the anniversary of Israel's founding in 1948, commonly referred to in Arabic as the "Nakba" or "catastrophe."

"We have mobilized thousands of police officers who are deployed in sensitive areas, particularly in Jerusalem and in the Wadi Ara area," spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said, referring to a northern area near Haifa where a large percentage of the population are Arab Israeli.

"Our forces have been placed on high alert in order to allow the planned events to go ahead, but we will not tolerate any violation of public order," he said.

Overnight, police had arrested another 13 Palestinians following demonstrations in annexed east Jerusalem, raising to 63 the total number arrested since Friday, he said, adding that eight police had been injured.

Since Friday, stone-throwing youths and police have been locked in clashes across east Jerusalem, which turned deadly on Friday, leaving a 16-year-old Palestinian youth dead.

Milad Said Ayyash was critically wounded on Friday as Palestinians across annexed east Jerusalem staged protests in the run-up to Sunday's anniversary. He died on Saturday morning.

Ayyash was buried Saturday in a graveyard outside the Old City walls by some 2,000 angry mourners as police kept a discreet watch but did not intervene, fearing more unrest.

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