After reaping a lot of protests from various international countries opened last Israeli blockade of Gaza Strip.
With a naval blockade in place and Israel giving no indication it will lift a ban on Gaza exports, Palestinians dismissed the move as cosmetic.

Yet the announcement was an unmistakable sign of Israeli leaders' extreme discomfort with the damage the bloody May 31 flotilla raid has done to their country's international standing — and an indication the blockade's days may be numbered.

Israel made its decision after consultations with U.S. and European officials, and a week after President Barack Obama — whose relations with Israel's hard-line government have been rocky — called the embargo unsustainable and urged that it be scaled back dramatically.

Mideast envoy Tony Blair, who helped work out the deal with Israel, called it a "good start." The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said Israel must "make sure that many, many more goods can get in to Gaza" and added that "the detail is what matters."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner welcomed the announcement, saying the Obama administration wants to see "an expansion of the scope and types of goods into Gaza ... while addressing, obviously, Israel's legitimate security needs."

In Gaza, the decision was met with skepticism and anger.

"We want a real lifting of the siege, not window-dressing," said Hamas lawmaker Salah Bardawil.