Updated

Israeli police say masked protesters hurled stones at policemen standing at the gates of a sensitive Jerusalem holy site, prompting security forces to enter the compound and disperse the demonstrators.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says "a small group of rioters" caused the disturbance on the hilltop compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Rosenfeld says no one was injured.

The skirmishes came as Israel marks Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the anniversary of Israel's capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war.

Rosenfeld says police have fanned out in anticipation of the annual Israeli march through Jerusalem later on Wednesday, which will pass by a Palestinian area in the Old City.

In the past, the marchers have faced protests by Palestinians.