Hundreds of Palestinians clashed on Tuesday with Israeli army in East Jerusalem during protests marking "Nakbah Day" -- the "Day of Catastrophe" mourning Israel's creation and Palestinian displacement, though none of the confrontations left any wounded.

Despite heightened security measures, protests in East Jerusalem were less violent than previous years, with clashes near Damascus Gate and the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, south of Jerusalem, where Palestinian youths hurled stones at Israeli troops deployed in the area.

"In general we heightened the security for this day. There were a number of incidents in East Jerusalem and the Qalandia checkpoint near Ramallah, but Israeli police responded promptly," Israel's police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Xinhua.

Protesters at Damascus Gate confronted Israeli army, though no serious violence was involved. Demonstrators marching with Palestinian flags called out for the end of the "Israeli occupation" and shouted slogans like "I would rather be dead than living in Israel."

Minor clashes were also reported at the village of Issawiyeh, where Israeli police dispersed Palestinian rioters.

Concerned over events spilling out of control, the Israeli army and police had already beefed up forces and riot gear on Monday in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last year's events, in which some 15 presumed Palestinian refugees were killed while attempting to cross the mined no-man's land between Syria and Israel, as well as trying to rush the fenced border with Lebanon.

This year's quiet "Nakbah Day" could also be related to Monday' s signing of an agreement between thousands of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails with Israeli authorities, which helped end an almost month-long protest.

The prisoners were protesting administrative detentions and lessened jail privileges.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a gesture to Palestinian National Authority's President Mahmoud Abbas, also announced that Israel would return the bodies of 100 Palestinians buried in Israeli soil.