Palestinian officials expressed hope Wednesday that US President George W. Bush's second term in the White House will bring changes to his policy toward the Middle East and the Palestinians in particular.

Palestinian representative to France, Leila Shahid, said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who is receiving medical treatment at a French hospital, expressed his hope that Bush's second term in office will be different from his first regarding the Palestinian issue, the Voice of Palestine radio reported.

Bush, who shunned Arafat during his first four years in office and has never received him at the White House, called Arafat "irrelevant" and "an obstacle to peace."

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said, "Now that the US elections are behind us, we hope President Bush will show more interest in the peace process and work on returning the parties to the negotiating table."

Erekat said he hoped Bush will revive the Middle East quartet, which groups the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, and "do everything he can to end the (Israeli) occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath echoed Erekat's hope by saying, "We will demand Bush meet his election commitments and promises in which he said he will exert more efforts to bring Israel back to the roadmap (peace plan)."

"We hope Bush will work toward reviving the peace process," Shaath said.