The Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament can not be dissolved unless a new council takes on after elections, a Hamas lawmaker Yehya Moussa said Sunday.

"The law regulated everything regarding the parliamentary elections, the term of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) ends when a new council is installed," Moussa said.

He stressed that under any transitional agreement there will be no "constitutional vacuum." He also criticized recent statements by president Mahmoud Abbas of rival Fatah party that the term of the PLC would not be extended even by a single day.

The current PLC, sworn in after Hamas won the elections in 2006, has been inactive since June 2007 due to the schism between Hamas and Fatah following Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip.

As a result of the political split between Gaza and the West Bank, Moussa said the elections due in January 2010 "can not be carried out under the schism."

He blamed the power struggle between his movement and Fatah " for not enabling Hamas to rule for one hour and so was unable to apply its electoral program in the Palestinian field."

The two movements are holding reconciliation talks mediated by Egypt, trying to form a unity government in Gaza and the West Bank and holding presidential and parliamentary elections.