The Palestinian Red Crescent said 23 runners were injured when Israeli police fired tear gas and stun grenades at an activist-organised run in solidarity with Palestinian families facing forced expulsion in occupied East Jerusalem

Hundreds of runners took part in the event on Friday which began in Sheikh Jarrah and ended 3.5km (2 miles) away in Silwan. Dozens of Palestinians living in the two neighbourhoods face the threat of losing their homes to Israeli settlers.

Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid, reporting from East Jerusalem, said the runners were wearing white T-shirts with “7,850” printed on them, representing the number of people activists say are facing forced expulsion in the city.

Abdel Hamid said Israeli security forces had attacked the protesters with stun grenades to disperse them, even though the run was peaceful.

“The young people were simply singing and cheering and were happy that they had done a marathon,” she added.

Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid, reporting from East Jerusalem, said the runners were wearing white T-shirts with “7,850” printed on them, representing the number of people activists say are facing forced expulsion in the city.

Abdel Hamid said Israeli security forces had attacked the protesters with stun grenades to disperse them, even though the run was peaceful.

“The young people were simply singing and cheering and were happy that they had done a marathon,” she added.

Protests in May against the forced expulsions of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah frequently drew violent responses by the Israeli security forces.

On May 9, amid growing tensions, the Israeli High Court delayed a ruling on the expulsion of four Palestinian families. A new court date would be announced in 30 days, it said.

An Israeli crackdown on protesters also spread to Al-Aqsa Mosque, which Israeli security forces stormed several times during the holy month of Ramadan, wounding hundreds of Muslim worshippers.

Rights groups say expulsions could still proceed in the coming months, potentially igniting another round of fighting.

Israeli rights group Ir Amim, which closely follows the court cases, estimates that at least 150 households in the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan have been served with expulsion notices and are at various stages in a long legal process.

The settlers are using a 1970 law that allows Jews to reclaim properties lost during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, a right denied to Palestinians who lost property in the same conflict, including Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, home to holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move not recognised internationally.

Israel views the entire city as its capital, while Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.