TOKYO • A senior Palestinian minister said yesterday that he was pinning his hopes on US presidential candidate Barack Obama, believing he would seal an elusive deal on creating a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Authority's planning minister Samir Abdullah told reporters on a visit to Tokyo he expected Obama to win the election in November and “look at the Palestinian question and try to do something about it.”

“He promised that he will not wait until the end of his term to launch negotiations and he will make it happen from day one. I hope that he will fulfil his promise,” he said.

It was a reference to President George W. Bush, who waited until last year to launch a major initiative in the Middle East.

Abdullah was doubtful at meeting a goal set by a November summit in Annapolis, near Washington, of reaching a final peace deal leading to an independent Palestinian state by the end of 2008.

“I can tell you it is very difficult to conclude an agreement this year,” said Abdullah, who took part in the Annapolis negotiations.

His praise of Obama comes a month after the candidate came under fire from Palestinians across the spectrum for saying that Jerusalem should remain the Jewish state's undivided capital.

Obama has been working to reassure Jewish Americans that he is a friend of Israel's.

In May, Obama's Republican opponent John McCain said that the hardline Palestinian movement Hamas would welcome an Obama presidency, charges the Democratic candidate denied as “offensive.”

Abdullah said that the United States should put greater pressure on Israel for its own sake, saying that its support of the Jewish state has caused “hatred, criticism and isolation” for Washington.

“The US is the biggest loser in the Israeli occupation,” Abdullah said. “It is in their interest to fix this mistake and to push Israel to withdraw from our land and to establish a Palestinian state, and they can do it.”