Palestinian Parliament Shuts Down

Tuesday's session of the Palestinian parliament was to have been the first in four months. It was canceled because a dozen Hamas legislators preferred to go on a trip to Indonesia instead, and the deputy speaker believed he wouldn't get a quorum. The extended break has largely gone unnoticed by a jaded public. "The public doesn't feel the absence of the legislative council because...it didn't do its job," said political scientist Ali Jerbawi. The legislature hasn't passed any laws since Hamas' election a year ago.