Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is tasked with convincing Washington that he is a trustworthy partner in the Mideast peace process in his first visit to the United States since taking office, analysts said.  

They also expected Abbas to try to persuade US President George W. Bush to readjust policy of bias toward Israel in the conflict. After a Palestinian arms smuggling ship was caught by Israel in the Red Sea more than three years ago, Israel managed to convince Bush that the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was an obstacle to peace and a sponsor of terrorism in the region.

This conviction presented a stark contrast with the scenario under the Clinton administration.

"Under the Clinton administration, there had been a balance to a certain extent in dealing with both sides, Israel and the Palestinians, in terms of diplomatic ties and peace talks," said Salem Abu Khater, a Palestinian analyst in Gaza.

However, the Bush administration totally ignored Arafat, and "exerted pressure on Arafat to end violence against Israel, while Israel was innocent in the eyes of Bush and other senior US officials," he said.

"When an Israeli was killed, Bush himself condemned the killing and called on Arafat and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to rein in terrorism," said Abu Khater.

"On the other hand, when hundreds of Palestinians, men, women and children alike, were killed in cold-blood by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, none of them had even said one word and dared to ask Israel to stop killing Palestinians," he added.

"The Palestinian people were getting more and more depressed and frustrated every time a Palestinian was killed, as President Bush himself was defending Israel's right to defend itself and its people," said Abu Khater.

In order to reverse this tendency, Abbas will try to ask the US to change its position toward the Palestinians and press Israel to implement the road map peace plan.

Abbas said earlier that he would focus on seeking political and financial support for the PNA in his talks with President Bush on May 26.

Abbas has proved himself as a serious partner in the Mideast peace process. After elected PNA president on January 9 to succeed Arafat who died in November 2004, Abbas has reached a ceasefire with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on February 8 and talked militants into abiding by the truce in March.

Long-awaited reforms in the security apparatuses were also ushered in by Abbas. Eight overlapping sections were merged into three and all security officers above the age of 60 were forced to retire with a generous pension package.   

Analysts hoped that the good gestures offered by Abbas would chime with a rising US interest in getting more actively involved in the Mideast peace process and reviving the stalled road map peace plan aimed at an independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel.

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2005)