Some two hundred haredim rioted in Jerusalem's Mea She'arim neighborhood on Wednesday in protest of the police approval of next Thursday's Gay Pride march.

The rioters burned trash cans, threw stones and several of them scuffled with policemen who arrived at the scene to restore calm.

Mea She'arim Street was closed to traffic and police were deployed on Shivtei Yisrael Street in order to prevent the haredi protesters from heading towards the city center.

Police approved a haredi protest against the event, which was expected to take place on Sunday and be attended by over 100,000 people. However, the ultra-orthodox Jews, whose protests last year forced the event to be held in an enclosed stadium, didn't wait until then to vent their anger at what they view as an abomination.

Haredim drove through ultra-orthodox neighborhoods with loudspeakers mounted on top of cars, calling on residents to take to the streets.

Thursday's parade, which is set to be manned by 7,000 policemen, is scheduled to start at Independence Park and end at Liberty Bell Park.

The annual local parade, which draws several thousand participants every year, has been the source of repeated debate, with many religious city councilors and a not insignificant number of largely-traditional city residents considering such an event inappropriate for a 'holy' city.

Supporters of the parade counter that freedom of speech allows them to hold the event in Jerusalem, as a symbol of tolerance and pluralism, even if theirs is the view of the minority of the city's residents.