JERUSALEM ( CNN ) -- Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police in east Jerusalem stretched into Sunday evening after a visit by a Jewish group to one of the city 's holiest sites . Israeli border police charge towards Palestinian protesters during clashes in Jerusalem 's Old City . Street battles began in the Old City on Sunday morning , when Palestinians praying at the site -- known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif , or `` Noble Sanctuary , '' and to Jews as Temple Mount -- began to throw rocks at the visiting Jews , said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld . Police responded with stun grenades and arrested eight demonstrators , he said . Rosenfeld also said two Palestinians and two police officers were wounded in the melee , but Sheikh Ikrima Sabri , a former grand mufti of Jerusalem , said nine Palestinians were hurt . Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat called the visit a deliberate provocation by hardliners opposed to a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict , and criticized the police response to the protests . Erakat compared the visit to the 2000 trip by Ariel Sharon -- before he was elected prime minister -- to the al-Aqsa mosque that Palestinians blame for touching off three years of violence . `` We 've seen this before , and we know what the consequences are , '' Erakat said in a statement issued Sunday evening . He said the visit was `` deliberately timed '' on the eve of the anniversary of Sharon 's September 28 , 2000 visit . There was no immediate response from the Israeli government to Erakat 's statement . The demonstration was broken up about 1:30 p.m. , but Palestinians continued battling police with rocks and Molotov cocktails for several hours in other parts of east Jerusalem . Erakat said Israel was `` deliberately escalating tensions '' in Jerusalem at the same time that U.S. President Barack Obama is trying to coax the two sides into restarting talks aimed a permanent settlement of the decades-old conflict . `` Providing a police escort for settlers who are against peace at all costs , and whose presence is deliberately designed to provoke a reaction , are not the actions of someone who is committed to peace , but of someone who will go to extraordinary lengths to scuttle all hopes of peace , '' Erakat said . CNN 's Shira Medding contributed to this report .
Street battles began in Jerusalem 's Jerusalem on Sunday morning . Police : Clashes begin when Palestinians praying there start to throw rocks at visitors . Police says 9 Palestinians , police officer hurt ; former Shira Medding says 9 Palestinian hurt . Chief Palestinians negotiator Saeb Erakat calls the visit a deliberate provocation .