By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - Sixteen people protesting against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the U.S.-led war in Iraq (news - web sites) lay down in a busy Manhattan intersection on Wednesday, halting traffic for blocks before being carried into police vans.

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The protesters, chained together by handcuffs, doused themselves in mock blood and chanted the refrain, "Occupation is a Crime, Free Iraq and Palestine," unfazed by the honking buses and jeering spectators crowded around the corner of Fifth Avenue and 47th Street.

In addition to the Israeli occupation, the activists were protesting against what they claim is a recent crackdown by Israeli authorities on peace activists. They called specific attention to Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American activist who was killed March 16 in Gaza while trying to stop an Israeli bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian physician's home. Israel claims the death was an accident.

The activists said they feared that the Iraq war would divert attention from the conflict in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (news - web sites), allowing the Israeli military to conduct violent acts unnoticed.

"It's important to know, as the chant goes, there will be no peace without justice," said Ryan Senser, 28, a freelance tutor who helped organize the protest. "The Israeli occupation is a constant provocateur of violent Palestinian resistance."

Some passersby, angered by the disturbance as well as the cause, yelled insults at the activists and pointed fingers in their faces. Some called the protesters "cowards" and "losers," telling them to get a job and take their protest to Iraq.

The boos quickly turned to cheers as police moved in to break up the protest. The first activist to go limp and be carried away was a young woman who blocked traffic in an orange traffic-control vest adorned with a sign that read "Stop."

"They should all go to the West Bank and be left there," said passerby Michael Lagana, 33, shaking his head. "They're cowards, every last one of them."

"I think they're a bunch of morons," said Monica Nathans, 28, as she turned away from the scene. "We're fighting a war against terrorism. They're not Americans."

Yet not everyone disagreed with their message — or even their methods.

"It's a dire time right now," said Pam Galpern, 34, who works for a non-profit legal aid organization. "I think dire acts need to be taken."

The 16 protesters were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of government administration, police said.

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