Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to tell Barack Obama on Wednesday that he must immediately turn his attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if he is elected U.S. president, or risk losing gains made in peace talks with Israel.

Obama, the presumptive Democratic candidate, is touring the Mideast and has scheduled to meet with Abbas for 45 minutes at Palestinian government headquarters in the West Bank.

Palestinians are hoping the visit means that he will focus on the conflict immediately once in office and push whatever gains that have already been made. Presidents Bush and Clinton largely stayed clear of the conflict during their first years in office.

A former Palestinian deputy foreign minister said he believes Obama’s visit here is a positive sign. “It means that if elected president, the Mideast file will be on his (Obama’s) desk from day one,” Abdullah Abdullah said hopefully.

The visit is generating some goodwill here, particularly since Republican rival John McCain did not visit the Palestinians in a Mideast trip this summer. A Ramallah baker named a bagel after Obama, to thank him for not ignoring the Palestinians.

Palestinians have been fascinated with the U.S. campaign, like people elsewhere in the region. The astounding success of a black candidate may also have helped improve the tarnished U.S. image in the eyes of some. However, deep skepticism about U.S. policy prevails.

Most Palestinians believe the U.S. is so irrevocably biased toward Israel that it will make little difference whether Obama or McCain is elected, pollster Jamil Rabbah said.

“The American interest has always been with Israel, not with us,” 22-year-old college student Mohammed Hatem said. “We have seen a lot of (U.S.) leaders who say they are going to work to get the Palestinian people an independent state, and they end up serving Israel.”

Obama deepened those fears in a speech to American Jewish leaders in June when he said that Jerusalem must remain Israel’s undivided capital _ even though no U.S. government accepted Israel’s 1967 annexation of east Jerusalem, the sector claimed by the Palestinians as their future capital.

Obama later clarified that he believes that negotiations will determine Jerusalem’s future. The fate of the city is currently on the table in U.S.-backed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Kadoura Fares, a legislator in Abbas’ Fatah movement, said Obama’s slipup on such a key issue caused serious damage. “His correction was not enough,” Fares added. “He should have said he recognizes the Palestinian right to freedom.”

The Islamic militant Hamas, which rules Gaza, said Obama is not welcome and criticized Abbas, a bitter rival, for receiving him. “Obama wants to go to the White House through Tel Aviv, at the expense of the Palestinians,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.

Abbas aides insist the Palestinian leader’s meeting with Obama offers an important opportunity.

Abbas will list the Palestinian grievances, including Israel’s continued settlement construction and refusal to ease restrictions on movement, Foreign Minister Riad Malki said.

Beyond that, Abbas will tell Obama that, if elected president, he must immediately turn his attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Saeb Erekat, an Abbas adviser.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are trying to reach a peace deal by the end of Bush’s term. However, progress has been slow and it’s increasingly likely the target date will not be met.

In this case, immediate involvement by the next president is crucial, the Palestinians will tell Obama, in order to keep going and not lose what has already been achieved. The two sides have started drafting, though so far it has mostly meant writing down their differences.

Obama may get a clearer idea of some of the issues as he takes the 30-minute drive from Jerusalem to Ramallah.

He’ll pass through two Israeli army checkpoints and get a close look at Israel’s West Bank separation barrier _ surrounding much of Jerusalem with a wall of towering cement slabs. Israel says the wall is a shield against militants. Palestinians say Israel has used it to grab more land.

At Abbas’ headquarters, Obama will run into an immediate protocol problem _ the mausoleum of legendary Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who is buried inside the walled compound.

Bush snubbed Arafat when he was alive, suspecting him of inciting violence. Since Arafat’s death, visiting U.S. officials have bypassed Arafat’s grave on the way to meetings with Abbas, while some other dignitaries have paid their respects.

Erekat said Obama wasn’t expected to visit the grave, but added that it would be unfair to hold that against the visitor.

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Additional reporting from Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah.