The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and some Palestinian groups on Wednesday expressed hope that US President Barack Obama's Mideast visit and speech will pave the way for a tangible and serious change on the pro-Israel US policy.

Both the PNA and the factions demanded that Obama's speech include clear concepts related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the equity of the Palestinian cause, regardless of the ties between Israel and the United States.

Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first leg of his Middle East tour. On Thursday, he is scheduled to visit Egypt to deliver a speech to the Muslim world.

The long-awaited speech of Obama in Cairo to the world's Muslims will be the peak of his short visit to the region, and an actual start of the efforts he began to revive the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

The PNA sounded more optimistic than the Palestinian groups, mainly Gaza-ruling Hamas movement, about the visit of the new American president who has made encouraging remarks to the Palestinians.

Saeb Erekat, a veteran Palestinian negotiator, told reporters in Ramallah that the PNA is waiting for President Obama to fulfill his commitments. "We want Obama's words to turn into actions on the ground," he said.

"Actions and changes on the ground are the basis," Erekat said, stressing that the aim of the Middle East peace process is well-known, "which is to end the Israeli military occupation that began in 1967."

Obama has repeatedly voiced his support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, and called on Israel to respect its commitments, stop settlements and accept the two-state solution.

Erekat said Obama's positive remarks "were not magical solutions to improve the life of the Arabs and the Muslims," but his calls on Israel to halt the settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including the natural growth of the housing blocs, "were the basis of the peace process."

Meanwhile, the Islamic Hamas movement, rival of Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, called on Washington "to stop being biased with Israel and be more open to deal with the Palestinian democracy, exactly as it is open to the Israeli democracy."

Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, warned in a statement of linking the Israeli-Palestinian conflict only with settlements cessation, which would serve as an introduction to Arab and Islamic normalization with Israel.

Al-Masri ruled out the responsibility that Obama's visit to the region "would make a real breakthrough in the Middle East peace process."

Hamas swept the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, but the United States, which still considers the movement a terrorist organization, led an international campaign to isolate the group.

"I don't believe that the Palestinian people are counting on Obama's visit to the region, especially (when) we haven't so far felt any changes in America's policy. This administration will repeat what former administrations did," said al-Masri.

The less influential Islamic Jihad (Holy War) group, in the meantime, said President Obama "will flatter the Muslims and enhance the image of the US in his speech from Cairo."

"Obama will try, through his speech to pretty up the image of America in the Islamic world and he will say that America decided to change its policies towards the Muslims," said leading Islamic Jihad leader Mohamed al-Hindi.

Al-Hindi expected that "Tomorrow (Thursday) Obama will declare that he supports the two-state solution vision and will call the Arabs for complete normalization with Israel."

"Once again we will get to the same circle we used to, which is inspiring us with a political track and preparing for another war somewhere else, as Israel on the ground will continue Judaizing Jerusalem and building settlements," said al-Hindi.

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2009)