Israel is holding five members of the Palestinian Cabinet -- including the deputy prime minister -- and more than two dozen other lawmakers. Combined with the 14 lawmakers who were already in prison, 39 of the 132 elected council members are behind bars, Palestinian officials said.
"I think Israel wants to send a message that the authority means nothing to them," said Hasan Khreisheh, 51, who became acting speaker of the legislative council after the arrest in August of Aziz Dweik, the council speaker. "They can change the rules of the game. They want to humiliate us."
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The Palestinian parliament was scheduled to meet this week to grapple with a packed agenda, including an update on the 2006 budget, a discussion about a new contemporary-affairs textbook for public schools, and a vote on supporting the marketing of Palestinian olive oil.
But with nearly one-third of their fellow members in Israeli jails, lawmakers suspended the meeting, unsure whether they would be able to muster enough votes to approve even routine legislation.
"Our council is becoming ineffective because we can't do our normal work," said Azam al-Ahmed, parliamentary chief for the Fatah party. "The Palestinian situation is frozen."
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Israel and the alleged
Israel and the alleged "international community" only believes in free and fair elections when Palestinians elect people that are acceptable to Israel and the alleged "international community."
 I agree with the above
 I agree with the above comment and post.
What surprised me was Israel agreeing to a UN resolution after defying countless prior resolutions over a period of more than 40 years.
 The kidnappings were probalby an attempt to draw attention away from the scare they got in Southern Lebanon.