Judicial and extra-judicial systems

Today's NY Times reported on the trial of Marwan Barghuti. Apparently everyone involved on the Palestinian side is just sitting around and making fun of the trial, instead of participating. Wittnesses are asking for movies to be held inthe court room, and people on the stand are just ripping up papers handed to them by prosecutors.

Naturally I feel the frustration of the courts, as well as the participants. However if the Palestinians do not cooperate in the court system and do not attempt to take it seriously, Israel will have little choice but to start doing everything extrajudicially. Extra-judicial punishments are the last resort of a system when one side is outside the pale of the judicial infrastructure.