Palestinians and Israelis hold joint protest

Nearly 3,000 protestors, including both Palestinians and Israelis, rallied here Saturday against the Jewish state's controversial West Bank separation barrier.
"No to apartheid," "The wall creates a prison for Palestinians, a ghetto for Israel," the demonstrators chanted, many of them waving Palestinian flags.
The protest was jointly organised by two Israeli peace groups, Gush Shalom and the bicommunal organisation Tayush, and was backed by all Palestinian factions except Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
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 a essential part of its defences against suicide bombings and other attacks carried out by Palestinian militant groups.