The Hamas Movement said, in return to an invitation for dialogue proposed by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi Monday, that it was ready for an open dialogue with the West. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zehri said the invitation for dialogue between the West and the Palestinian movement, as proposed by Prodi, was "deeply appreciated by Hamas." He added that similar invitations for dialogue had come from "other European sides" including a delegation of UK legislators, who slammed their government for its attitude towards Hamas and called for opening a dialogue with the Palestinian movement.Abu Zehri stressed that these invitations for dialogue have underlined "the mistake committed by the West and Europe in the way they dealt with Hamas." He expressed hope that such invitations would receive positive responses and stated that his movement was ready for dialogue with the West. Prodi had underlined, in a recent statement, the "need to engage in a dialogue with Hamas to help achieve its political development." The Italian prime minister had added that Hamas had become a reality on the ground but remained a complicated structure that needed to be developed with European help.