Riots at Ras El-Amoud, Jerusalem
Riots at Ras El-Amoud, JerusalemIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Arabs attacked police Sunday morning in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Maaleh HaZeitim, also known as Ras al-Amoud, where soon more Jewish families are expected to be moving in.

The neighborhood is located in the eastern section of Israel's capital city of Jerusalem and has been the focus of conflict since Jewish families moved into the area just before last summer.

Quoting an eyewitness, the Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA claimed clashes began when an Israeli police patrol stopped to question a group of PA Arab youths, "and attempted to arrest one minor."

The youths hurled rocks and empty bottles at the patrol, which responded with riot control measures, including tear gas and "sound grenades," according to WAFA, and "chased them in the area streets."

Three weeks ago, the Jerusalem municipality approved a new 17-unit Jewish housing complex in the neighborhood, to be called Maaleh David.

The four-story building was once used  by the Judea and Samaria District Police Station, which took it over when the area was restored to Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War.

Plans to build the project were submitted to the government more than two years ago. 

The building was recently returned to its owner, the Bukharan Trust, which renovated it and transformed it into an apartment complex.