Violent clashes erupted on Wednesday in an East Jerusalem neighborhood between scores of Palestinian youths, on one hand, and occupation policemen and army troops, on the other

Violent clashes erupted on Wednesday in an East Jerusalem neighborhood between scores of Palestinian youths, on one hand, and occupation policemen and army troops, on the other, eyewitnesses said.

They added that the clashes had broken out in the East Jerusalem Silwan neighborhood soon after Zionist policemen and army troops raided the homes of the relatives of a Palestinian driver accused of running over and killing an Israeli baby and injuring eight people.

"A large number of Israeli troops and policemen had arrived in the neighborhood and searched the homes of the relatives of Abdel-Rahman al-Shelodi, who is accused in the running over event," one eyewitness told media outlets.

He added that storming homes provoked the Palestinian youths who clashed with the Zionist occupation troops who responded by firing teargas.

Some Palestinians, the eyewitness said, experienced temporary asphyxiation as a result.

Zionist police, meanwhile, declared maximum alert in Jerusalem, sending reinforcements to different areas, according to the Hebrew Channel 10.

The Zionist entity occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish 'state' – a move never recognized by the international community.