Players, their wives and children took part in “Take Back the Night” rally in the Israeli capital Tel Aviv on Saturday.
The rally began at noon local time and was scheduled to continue until 2 p.m.
Local police reported at least 20 people were arrested for breaking the law.
Police said demonstrators hurled rocks and bottles and set fire to a police car.
They were then attacked by the protesters.
The Israeli police said more than 1,000 police officers were deployed to the demonstration.
The protesters, some wearing black armbands, held up signs with slogans such as “Death to the occupation” and “We are all Israel.”
They shouted slogans like “Justice for the Palestinian people.”
Israeli police said they would not allow the demonstration to turn violent.
The protesters said they were there to support Palestinians.
They also said they wanted the Israeli government to end settlement construction in the West Bank.
The protest was the first of its kind in Israel and the first since the beginning of the year, when protesters took to the streets to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu withdraw from a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
The rally in Jerusalem was the latest demonstration in an increasingly heated debate over the relationship between Israel and its neighbors.
Israel has also been rocked by unrest, with police killing more than 100 Palestinians since June.
The Palestinians are seeking the recognition of a state of their own, and Israeli security forces have shot and killed at least 18 Palestinians.
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, said in a statement Saturday that Israel would not tolerate violence against Israelis.
Israelis also have been increasingly frustrated with the Israeli response to protests against its military campaign in Gaza, with protests spreading from the Gaza Strip to cities across the country.
More than 3,200 Palestinians have been killed in the two-week conflict.