West Bank: a government in jail

But so far, he acknowledges, it would be difficult to consider this government a success. That point is driven home by the fact that there isn't a more senior person to speak for Hamas. And there are far graver indicators. The United Nations said Tuesday that the Palestinian economy was on the verge of collapse, with 2 out of 3 families living below the poverty line. If the trend continues, the UN study predicted, the economy could shrink next year to the size it was 15 years ago and drive unemployment up to more than 50 percent.

"On the social and human level, this is a disaster for sure. It's true that following the siege imposed on Hamas, the people have suffered more," Mr. Orabi says. But for that, he blames the international community, in particular the US, for withholding funds and causing the economic crisis.

"The citizens here know that America is the one keeping the funds from flowing in," he says, adding that he does not hold anti-American or Western views, pointing to his broken-in jeans and Tommy Hilfiger shirt. " If America believed in democracy in the truest sense, it wouldn't be biased against the Palestinian Authority."

Meanwhile, even as some offices continue to function on a basic level, the government's trials are pushing people to rely more on family and tribal ties than on legal institutions.

But the sense of the PA as a body losing its grip on governance has been building for several years. Its institutions were frequently targeted by Israel during the last intifada, and internal political rivalries between Fatah and Hamas have only fueled an encroachment of lawlessness to fill the power vacuum.

"The expectations from this government are minimal," says Said Zeedani, professor of political science at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem. "If a government is not able to pay salaries, you don't expect much from it. The legislative council was never effective enough and there was security chaos, and there were complaints about that before this government was elected. Even if the government enacts laws, there is no one really enforcing them because the security forces have no power."

He adds: "The test of any government is providing services, and from that perspective, this government is hardly there."

Some Palestinians argue that's hardly Hamas's fault. The al-Wehwahs, a middle-aged couple from Hebron, believe the sole problem is that the world did not give Hamas a fighting chance. "I have to be tolerant and patient. Hamas wants to work but no one will let them," says Mousa al-Wehwah.

"They were put in jail before they did anything," says his wife, Muyassar al-Wehwah. Though the school year was to have started this week, her children are at home, she says. Public schools are closed due to the teachers' strike, and they cannot afford private school tuition.

Some people are starting to see a way forward. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced earlier this week that he had reached a deal for a national unity government with the ruling Hamas party. That could make room for the ousted Fatah faction of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) to join the cabinet and direct negotiations with Israel.

Barghouthi, the Labor Minister, says he would be ready to leave his position to make room for others if it enabled the creation of a national unity government.

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