The demonstrators banged on pots as they marched, with some calling for prime minister Salam Fayyad to quit after he disclosed the measures, including tax hikes, earlier this month.

We want a government that defends the people rather than robbing them of their food and money by raising taxes, complained Khaled Mansur, one of the leaders of the leftist Palestinian People's Party.

At the beginning of January, Fayyad announced a number of measures, that also included early retirement for public servants, in a bid to reduce what is forecast as a $1.1 billion (853 million euro) 2012 budget deficit.

Fayyad's plans for spending cuts come as he himself faces an uncertain future at the head of the Ramallah-based government.