The Palestinian leadership, both in Ramallah and Gaza, hoped to exploit US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital (which really wasn't all that different from what his predecessors had done) to reinvigorate the violent uprising against the Jewish state.

While there were scattered incidents of fairly serious violence, such as a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip striking an empty kindergarten, the "rage" that Palestinian leaders had called for quickly fizzled.

On Friday, thousands of Palestinians gathered at flashpoints across the so-called "West Bank" and Gaza, hurling stones and firebombs and setting everything they could alight.

By Saturday, no more than 600 rioters were turning out at these locations, and the numbers were expected to continue decreasing dramatically into the new week.

Nine Palestinians and Israeli Arabs were reportedly arrested for their parts in different riots, and a small handful were treated for light injuries.

Four Israeli police officers and two civilians were also lightly wounded.

Palestinian media reported that at least one of the instigators of the riots along the Gaza security fence, during which at least one man crossed into Israeli territory, was shot and killed.

Not quite the opening of the "gates of hell," as Hamas vowed following Trump's speech.