Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is scheduled to visit the United States on Oct. 20, will try to seek Washington's support to fortify his power as the new Palestinian leader and iron out difficulties his administration is facing, said analysts.

It is the first visit of Abbas to the United States after Israel completed withdrawing troops and settlers from the entire Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank last month, a move many hope can inject fresh impetus into the long-stalled Mideast peace process.

Palestinian analysts expect Abbas to capitalize on the Israeli pullout and try to win more US support to push forward the peace process and consolidate his personal clout in the bumpy Palestinian political landscape.

"Abbas wants to continue with his steps to gain more US political and financial support to the Palestinians and to himself, " said Gaza-based political observer Ibrahim Abu Namoos.

"But his trip to the White House will be rather tough, since so many difficulties are lying ahead, which Abbas hopes the US can help solve," Namoos added.

Since elected in January to succeed the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Abbas has been fighting an uphill battle in the pursuit of peace, internal reforms, restoring order in the chaos- plagued Palestinian territories and improving the Palestinian economy.

Despite a landslide victory in the Jan. 9 presidential elections, support to Abbas slipped largely due to escalating chaos in Gaza and the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the bespectacled, moderate leader is also facing challenges from Arafat's old guard who oppose overhaul reforms as well as from a younger generation that accuses the Palestinian National Authority of being corrupt and favors a blood-and-iron policy against Israel.

Israel's Gaza withdrawal has helped push high Abbas' approval rating as president, from 33 percent in April to 40 percent now, according to the latest poll released on Wednesday.

"If Abbas succeeds in winning more support from Washington, a key Mideast player, his position in the power echelon will be further fortified," Namoos said.

"The US backing will boost his standing among Palestinians ahead of the January parliamentary elections, in which his mainstream Fatah movement is facing a strong challenge from the Islamic Hamas group," Namoos added.

TALKS WITH ISRAEL

To persuade Washington to press Israel for more peace efforts will also be high on the agenda of Abbas' visit.

Analysts said Abbas, following a step-by-step strategy, will urge the United States to pile pressure on Israel to release more Palestinian prisoners, freeze settlement expansion in the West Bank and ease a tight grip on passages and crossings.

"Abu Mazen (Abbas' nickname) never believes in using wars and arms to achieve the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. He believes in dialogue and negotiation to get to the goals step by step," said Namoos.

"Following the Israeli Gaza withdrawal, Abbas now is moving to the next step, that is, to press Israel into more concessions," he added.

That may prove to be a formidable task.

A summit between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, originally scheduled on Oct. 2, was put off twice due to a new surge of violence and discrepancy between the two sides on key issues.

The Palestinian side demanded Israel release more prisoners and pull back from more West Bank cities, while Israel said it would not make "hasty" concessions.

The Jewish state hopes to use the summit to press Abbas to dismantle militant groups, which Abbas fears will lead to internal strifes.

The two sides then decided to postpone the summit till early November after Abbas' tour to Washington in order to ensure that the meeting does not end in an embarrassing failure.

Palestinian observers said the postponement would help Abbas gain an edge in the future summit if he comes back with the US blessing.

Abbas' coming visit to the US will be the second of its kind since he was elected president.

During his trip to Washington in May, US President George W. Bush urged Israel to stop settlement expansion activities that could jeopardize negotiations on a final peace deal.

Bush also pledged 50 million US dollars in aid for the Palestinians.

Source: Xinhua