Ramallah, West Bank, June 8, SPA -- The Palestinian "Hamas" group is ready for dialogue with the U.S. and Europe, but rejects calls from the West to disarm, a spokesman said Wednesday. The Associated Press said Mohammed Ghazal, a Hamas representative in the West Bank, spoke a day after Britain's visiting foreign secretary, Jack Straw, ruled out contact with Hamas leaders until the group renounces violence. The United States also refuses to deal with the group. Ghazal said a dialogue with the West would be beneficialfor Hamas. "We don't want to leave this area only in thehands of Israel," he said. Hamas already has informalcontacts with American and European officials, he added. But he said Hamas, wouldn't give up its arms until the Palestinians win independence. "We are interested in the dialogue," Ghazal said. "Butwe are not able to meet their conditions now, beforeresolving our national cause." If the Palestinians create their own state, he added,Hamas would disarm. "If they help us get back our rights,we will immediately stop our attacks and militaryactivity," he said. Despite Straw's tough words against Hamas on Tuesday, theBritish foreign secretary acknowledged in a radio interviewthat British diplomats recently met with Hamas-affiliatedpoliticians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.--SPA1343 Local Time 1043 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/268384