Ex-president Jimmy Carter seems to live in some sort of parallel universe:

Innocent Palestinian people are being treated like animals, with the presumption that they are guilty of some crime. Because they voted for candidates who are members of Hamas, the United States government has become the driving force behind an apparently effective scheme of depriving the general public of income, access to the outside world and the necessities of life.

Of course, we know that the problem is that providing funding for the Palestinians while Hamas holds the reins of power means vast sums of money are likely to end up in Hamas coffers to be used to by weapons with which to kill Israelis. This is not just a suspicion -- Yasser Arafat enriched himself to the tune of hundreds of millions, maybe more, in the same way. In any case, Hamas has not renounced violence or otherwise indicated a willingness to behave in the manner of a responsible sovereign power, and so the money will not flow.

But we can agree to disagree on what Hamas might or might not do. What we can't disagree on are the facts:

t is almost a miracle that the Palestinians have been able to orchestrate three elections during the past 10 years, all of which have been honest, fair, strongly contested, without violence and with the results accepted by winners and losers. Among the 62 elections that have been monitored by us at the Carter Center, these are among the best in portraying the will of the people.

Among the best elections monitored? The results accepted by the winners and losers? Really?

A Gaza security chief loyal to moderate president Mahmoud Abbas was killed when his car blew up Wednesday, the second attack on security commanders in the volatile area in less than a week.

It was not immediately clear who planted the bomb. The attack came during an increasingly bloody power struggle between the Hamas government and Mr. Abbas.

The security chief killed Wednesday was identified as Nabil Hodhod, head of the elite Preventive Security Service in central Gaza. The security branch has been spearheading the confrontation against the Hamas militia.

In Gaza, Hamas blamed Mr. Abbas' rival Fatah group for the kidnapping and shooting of its militants near the southern town of Khan Younis. Hamas activists said the kidnappers served in the Preventive Security Service.

Armed clashes between Hamas and Fatah intensified last week after the Hamas government deployed its own 3,000-member force of militants to the streets.

The three Hamas militants emerged from morning prayers at a mosque near the town of Khan Younis. A car with masked gunmen pulled up, bundled them into the vehicle and sped off, Hamas officials said.

About 15 minutes later, the three Hamas men were found lying in the street near a gas station. Two had been shot in the legs and the third in the abdomen and leg. Hamas officials said the man with the stomach and leg injuries died at a nearby hospital.

Fatah declined to comment on the incident.

I wonder just how violent things have to be before the observers from the Carter Center decide that these people are not really in an accepting mood, and that maybe these Palestinian elections have not really been all that successful.

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