With fuel and medical supplies running low as a result of sanctions implemented by Israel ostensibly in response to the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israel, Hamas members toppled the steel wall on the border with Egypt last week. Once on the Egyptian side of the border, Gaza residents were able to stock up on much-needed supplies before heading back home.

Israeli leaders, incensed that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had not resurrected the wall and stopped the Gazans from entering, began suggesting that they would relinquish control of the strip altogether, leaving Egypt lumped with responsibility for the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza.

"We need to understand that when Gaza is open to the other side, we lose responsibility for it," said Israel's deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai. "So we want to disconnect from it.

"We want to stop supplying electricity to them, stop supplying them with water and medicine, so that it would come from another place."

Israel controls the Gaza coastline, its airspace and its borders, except for the section of the border with Egypt, enabling it to impose crippling sanctions in a move aimed at halting the almost daily firing of rockets into towns in southern Israel. Israel supplies Gaza with 70 percent of its electricity, and controls the flow of food, medical supplies and water into the strip.

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