RAMALLAH, West Bank ? Swept up in anti-American sentiment, Palestinians increasingly want the Marlboro man out of town.

Many smokers, especially young trendsetters, have switched to French-made Gauloises, which they say are similar in taste and a dollar a pack cheaper.

American cigarettes, particularly Marlboros, have been the main target of a boycott of U.S.-made products organized several months ago by Palestinian activists. The campaign has resonance among many Palestinians upset by what they see as Washington’s one-sided support of Israel.

Two other famous American exports — Levi’s and Coca-Cola — have largely escaped the sanctions. At more than $50 a pair, Levi’s were out of reach for most Palestinians anyway. Coca-Cola is bottled in Ramallah — the Palestinian administrative headquarters in the West Bank, meaning a boycott could endanger jobs.

So Marlboros are taking the hit.

“The United States is backing Israel to continue the occupation of our land,” said 24-year-old construction worker Fadi Suleiman. The former Marlboro man and most of his buddies now smoke Gauloises. “Maybe the boycott will be a message to the Americans to open their eyes and stop being pro-Israeli.”

Marlboro had always been the most popular cigarette in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, favored especially by Palestinian men in their 20s and 30s as a status symbol; most Palestinian women don’t smoke.

Wherever men gathered — at work, for card games in all-male coffee shops or even at stone-throwing protests against Israeli occupation — most smoked, and the brand of choice was Marlboro. The only exception was in prison in Israeli — a waystation for tens of thousands of Palestinians — where only Israeli brands are available.

Anti-American sentiment has peaked in the past, during the first uprising from 1987-1993 and during the 1991 Gulf War, but never before has an anti-American boycott succeeded.

The sales of Marlboros appeared to begin declining in the West Bank about a year ago with the introduction of Gauloises.

Hassan al-Zain, 60, who has been selling cigarettes in Ramallah’s central Manara Square since 1954, said that only a year ago, he used to sell 10 packs of Marlboros a day. Now he is selling 10 packs of Gauloises and two packs of Marlboros. Other vendors confirmed the trend.

Al-Zain said the new sales patterns are a result of the boycott, but also of the lower price — Marlboros cost $3, compared with $2 for Gauloises.