Many Palestinians are looking forward to the visit of President Clinton to Gaza and the West Bank because they believe he will rescue the peace process, boost their political prospects and cement the tentative partnership between the Palestinian Authority and the US.
After consultations with Israeli leaders, he will fly to Gaza on Monday where he will address the Palestine National Council (PNC). He will attend a lunch hosted by the Palestine President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and, if all goes well in talks with the Israelis, take part in a three-way summit with Mr Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Tuesday Mr Clinton will visit Bethlehem where he will tour the Church of the Nativity and switch on the lights of the Christmas tree in Manger Square and visit Massada, the site of the last stand of Jewish rebels against Rome.
Palestinians are heartened by Mr Clinton's decision to spend equal time with each side. The President's main task is to rescue the peace process following the disruption by Israel of the implementation process laid down at the Wye summit. His presence at the PNC meeting, convened to "reaffirm" the cancellation of anti-Israeli clauses in the Palestinian covenant, should make it impossible for Mr Netanyahu to claim that the Palestinians have not renounced their intention to destroy the Jewish state.
Palestinians argue that Israel is using this issue to stall implementation because both the US and the former Israeli government accepted the abrogation of these clauses at a PNC meeting in April 1996.
Mr Clinton will have to convince the Israelis to open the "safe passage" for Palestinians between the West Bank and Gaza and to proceed with the next stage of the redeployment scheduled for December 18th.
He will also have to reach a compromise with the two sides on the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners. In the first release of 250, only 100 were political prisoners and the rest common criminals. This enraged ordinary Palestinians who expected those who took part in the Intifada to be freed, precipitating widespread rioting in the West Bank over the past week.
Palestinians see Mr Clinton's visits to "liberated areas" in Gaza and the West Bank as recognition of their right to self-determination and independence. They consider his visit as confirmation of his statement last January when he spoke of "the right of the Palestinians to live as a free people".
They believe that this visit is the first step towards full, formal US recognition of the Palestinian state, proclaimed in November 1988 at Algiers and recognised by 127 governments.
Mr Clinton's presence will complete the tentative US-Palestinian partnership which has been forged over the past two years. Since the foundation of Israel in 1948, its leaders have always tried to block or scupper such relationships with the Arabs.
Two Palestinians were killed and some 50 wounded as fresh violence hit the West Bank yesterday. Israeli troops opened fire with real bullets on a demonstration by several hundred Palestinians in the town of Qalqilya.
Paslestionan sources said one of the dead was a male nurse helping to evacuate the wounded when he was fired on by Israeli troops. He was hit by two bullets in the head and chest, officials at the town's UN hospital said.