BAQAA AL-SHARQIYA, West Bank, 14 November 2003 — Some 1,000 Palestinians joined by Israeli and foreign peace activists demonstrated yesterday against Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank town of Baqaa Al-Sharqiya.

The 4,000-strong Palestinian town which straddles the Green Line with Israel was cut off from the West Bank city of Tulkarm and other areas vital to its economy by the barrier. Residents as well as a group from the International Solidarity Movement staged the demonstration as part of a week of protests and activities against the controversial project.

A small group tried to force open a gate through to the other side of the barrier, but Israeli troops broke up the protestors by firing tear-gas grenades, an AFP correspondent reported.

Israel says the barrier is vital to prevent infiltrations by West Bank militants, but the Palestinians argue that the fence, which cuts deep into the territory, is aimed at predetermining the borders of their future state and driving them out of fertile areas.

A survey released Tuesday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that the barrier only conforms to Israel’s recognized boundary on 11 percent of its planned route.

The report said that it would thus de-facto annex 15 percent of the West Bank and lead to severe humanitarian consequences for more than 680,000 Palestinians.

“Little consideration appears to have been given by the Israeli government to the wall’s impact on Palestinian lives,” the report said.

Meanwhile, the backers of the “Geneva Initiative” began a publicity drive in Israel yesterday to whip up support for their alternative peace plan, placing adverts in major newspapers.

The adverts, symbolically colored in the blue and white of the Israeli flag, informed readers that the full text of the document will be mailed to every Israeli household next week.

Arabic and even Russian versions of the document will also be made available in the coming weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called the project, which is due to be formally unveiled in Switzerland on Dec. 1, an “illusion” and insists that the internationally-backed “road map” is the only hope of reaching peace with the Palestinians. But the adverts placed in the Yediot Ahronot, Ma’ariv and Haaretz dailies said it could usher in a “new era based on peace”.

The initiative would result in an “end of the conflict, recognition of the Jewish people’s right to a state, most of the (Jewish) settlers will stay in Israeli territory and a solution to the (Palestinian) refugee problem.”

Plans to inform the public about the document were blunted, however, after regulators decided to ban radio adverts. While the Israeli government has turned its nose up at the plan, the Palestinians have been more welcoming.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has said that while it does not have official backing, he welcomes any such effort to bring an end to the violence between the two sides.

Three Palestinians who were involved in drafting the text — Prisoners Affairs Minister Hisham Abdelrazaq, Planning Minister Nabil Qassis and minister without portfolio Qaddura Fares — were all appointed ministers in the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei that was officially approved Wednesday.

Among the Israeli figures who helped draw up the document are former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and a former leader of the opposition Labour Party, Amram Mitzna.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said the initiative “deserves praise and encouragement as courageous attempts to break the stalemate on both sides”, while British Prime Minister Tony Blair said it “gives them a chance to look beyond current difficulties.”

Beilin and former Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo have claimed support from US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

US officials have said, however, that while Powell recognizes the “usefulness and importance of what is being done”, they are not going to formally endorse the project and remain committed to the road map.

The Geneva Initiative deals with all key points in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the thorny issues of the Jewish settlements and the borders of a future Palestinian state. Under the agreement, both sides would share sovereignty over Jerusalem and reach a compromise on the issue of Palestinian refugees’ right of return.