At the foot of the eight-meter-high (25-foot) cement slabs that form the barrier in Abu Dis, in the suburbs of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, a string of speakers climbed onto the roof of a car to vent their anger.
"We are here before this monster that Israel calls 'closure'. This wall will fall, and (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon and his government will fall along with it," said Israeli peace activist Uri Avneri.
"You speak of peace but you're thinking of an interminable war that will kill all the Palestinians, even those who have not yet been born," Avneri said, addressing the Israeli government.
His speech, translated into Arabic by an interpreter, earned thunderous applause from protestors, many of them waving Palestinian flags, pictures of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) and banners of various Palestinian factions.
"No to apartheid," "The wall creates a prison for Palestinians, a ghetto for Israel," the demonstrators chanted.
The protest was jointly organized by two Israeli peace groups, Gush Shalom and the bicommunal organization Tayush, and was backed by all Palestinian factions except the radical Islamic groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
"This wall will only add to the hatred and violence and lead to more bloodshed, for which Israel will be responsible," said Nihad Abu Ghush, speaking on behalf of what he called the "national Palestinian forces".
The Palestinians charge that the separation barrier, which in places juts deep into the West Bank, is a deliberate attempt to pre-empt the borders of their promised state.
But Israel insists that the fence is an essential part of its defenses against suicide bombings and other attacks carried out by Palestinian militants infiltrating from the West Bank.
Dozens of Palestinian towns and villages, in addition to several quarters in east Jerusalem, will be surrounded by the barrier and cut off from the rest of the West Bank, resulting in the isolation of some 350,000 Palestinians.
Arab Israeli MPs, Palestinian deputies and religious figures from various faiths participated in the protest, which came two weeks before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), based in The Hague (news - web sites), is due to examine the legality of the barrier.
The crowd in Abu Dis hailed Israeli activist Etai Ryb, who spent two months in an Israeli jail for refusing to fulfill his mandatory military service in the Palestinian territories.
"I did jail time for refusing to serve in the territories. This wall is also a prison," he said.
Palestinian activist Mustafa Barghuti told protestors: "This wall will fall like the Berlin Wall. The world and all honest people are with us, and our cause will win out in the end."
Hatem Abdelkader, a Palestinian deputy for Jerusalem, accused Sharon of using the wall as a "cemetery for the Palestinians".
"We're going to turn it into a cemetery for him and his government," the deputy vowed.
While many said they believed the ICJ would declare the barrier illegal following hearings scheduled to begin on February 23, few expected Israel to heed its decision, as the Jewish state has contested the court's jurisdiction.
"The ICJ's decision will at least be a wake-up call for the international community," Italian activist Germana Nijim told AFP.
Israeli demonstrator Sylvia Piterman said an ICJ ruling against Israel could open up the Jewish state to sanctions.
The ICJ's opinion is non-binding and only advisory but could cause great embarrassment to Israel should it declare the barrier to be illegal.
