In Gaza City, armed clashes erupted between supporters of Hamas, which runs the Palestinian Authority, and of Fatah, which supports the country's President Mahmoud Abbas, after the latter called for early general elections in the country.
"It is impossible to speak about Palestinian self-government and the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict while the [Palestinian] Authority is on the brink of civil war," Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Committee on International Affairs of the Russian parliament's upper house, said.
Earlier, Abbas unsuccessfully tried to form a national unity government in a bid to overcome factional infighting and persuade the West to remove an embargo imposed following Hamas' landslide victory in January elections.
The United States and many European countries classify the militant movement as a terrorist organization.
The Russian senator said that only a compromise can prevent further escalation of the conflict, and that it does not matter how such a compromise is reached, whether by holding a re-election or by forming a national unity government.
He said that disagreements between Hamas and Fatah, which result in armed clashes on the streets, cast doubts on the legitimacy of the both parties.
"There is, factually speaking, no authority in Palestine able to speak for the whole nation, to deal with the deteriorating economic situation or hold talks with Israel and the rest of the world," Margelov said.
He said that until the PA overcomes its political fragmentation, all attempts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are doomed to failure.
Hamas was elected until 2010, but the United States and the U.K. have already said they support Abbas's call for new elections.
