Zahhar: Hamas not counting on West

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahhar said Tuesday that the movement does not pin much hope on contacts with Western countries, Jordanian media reported. Zahhar told Jordanian newspaper al-Dustour: "We don't count on ongoing contacts, we just talk to who wants to listen." Party officials told The Associated Press last week that Hamas recently held secret talks with five European Union member states. Zahhar played down the significance of the meetings to al-Dustour, saying "we don't pin serious hopes on western countries." He hit back at reports Hamas will stop military resistance activities. Groups making such allegations "must read recent Palestinian history, especially 2006 and 2008 when there were wars on Hamas," he told the newspaper.