If one thing unites Israel and its Islamist archenemy Hamas, the militia that governs the Gaza Strip, it is the prospect of tens of thousands of angry Palestinians demonstrating at the fence that marks the border between the two.

For Hamas, this would symbolize loss of control over a territory it has ruled with an iron fist since 2007, years that have included three armed conflicts with Israel and the torture and summary killing of people identified as opponents of the militant organization.



For the record: This article incorrectly says the number of supply trucks entering the Gaza Strip from Israel has gone from 900 to 300 weekly. The figures are for daily crossings.

For Israel’s army, the possibility of a protest in which thousands of unarmed civilians attempt to storm the border or even, in some projections, attempt to uproot the fence offers two nightmare scenarios: the army acting with force against civilians, or thousands of Gazans streaming into southern Israel.