The problem occurred when the wall dividing Egypt and the Gaza town of Rafah was damaged by Hamas militants in a series of explosions late in January, which allowed thousands of Palestinians to enter Egypt.
During a government meeting on Wednesday, attended by Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the country's leadership decided to build a reinforced fence separating Israel from Egypt.
The first two sections will be constructed near Eilat, Israel's southernmost resort city and Nitzana, near the border. The construction project was initially submitted by Ehud Barak and according to the media will cost the country over $1 billion.
Egyptian authorities used to allow Palestinians free access to the Sinai Peninsula to buy food, fuel and other essential items in short supply, following an Israeli embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip in punishment for almost-daily rocket attacks by Islamic militants on Israeli towns.
On February 4, after Egyptian security forces sealed the border wall, violence broke out between Palestinians and Egyptian police, who used tear gas. At least one Palestinian was killed and six injured in armed clashes at the Rafah checkpoint on the Gaza-Egypt border.
On Monday, a suicide bomber killed a 73-year-old Israeli woman and injured 16 others in southern Israel, the first suicide attack in Israel for over a year.
Joint responsibility for the attack was claimed by three Palestinian militant groups, who said the bombing was in response to Israel's fuel and food blockade, adding that the bombers had entered Israel via Gaza and not through the Egyptian-Gaza border.
