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JERUSALEM-Israel said on Sunday it would prevent any attempt by Palestinians to break through the Gaza Strip's border with the Jewish state in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade.A pro-Hamas group has said it will hold a peaceful protest in Gaza on Monday and it estimated that 40,000 to 50,000 women and children will form a "human chain" stretching the length of the Hamas-run territory.Hamas blew open Gaza's southern border wall with Egypt last month. Organizers of Monday's protest said they had no intention of breaching the border with Israel but an Israeli security source said the army was preparing for "all scenarios".The breach at Rafah allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to pour into Egypt to stock up on goods in short supply in the coastal enclave because of Israel's economic and military cordon.Since then, Hamas officials have raised the possibility of organizing similar breaches along the border with Israel."Israel will defend its territory and will stop any infiltration attempt into its sovereign borders," Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in a rare joint statement."Israel is acting to prevent an escalation but makes it clear that if it does happen the responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of Hamas," the statement said.Ahead of Monday's protest, the Israeli army put its paramilitary border police on standby and boosted surveillance along the Gaza frontier, security sources said.
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