Hamas claims it met with US officials last May

In an interview with Al Quds al Arabi, Hamas spokesman Salah Bardawil says that Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar met with Western and US officials in Cairo last May.

Bardawil said that Hamas wants to be part of the Arab spring, which led to the rise of Islamic movements in the Arab world. In that context he says that Hamas representatives held a back-channel meeting with Western officials, including Americans.

While he says that Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar was one of the people who met with Western officials in Cairo in May, he refused to provide details about the meeting.

Zahar today is talking further about the idea of Hamas having closer ties with Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad are classified as terrorist organizations by the US State Department.