"That was a mistake," said Dennis Ross, who left the State Department after serving in both the Clinton and the first Bush administrations. "You have to learn from that."
The ex-diplomat recounted to the Washington Times how Clinton's foreign policy team mishandled the 2000 Temple Mount fiasco.
"We got word that the Palestinians planned a violent, massive demonstration" the day after then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the site, he recalled.
"Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called Arafat and said clearly, 'you know we are at an important point of presenting new ideas'" for a peace settlement, Ross said.
"We can't do it if there is violence," Albright warned the PLO leader. "You have to control it."
But despite the entreaty to Arafat, "he made no effort," the ex-diplomat complained.
While Israel could at times be intransigent, Ross suggested the problem was habitual with the Palestinian leader.
Still, the Clinton administration turned a blind eye to Palestinian violations that led to the security problems, Ross said.
Palestinian militia leaders were allowed to defy agreed-upon deployment limits. And when terrorist acts against Israel were committed, Arafat would release the perpetrators shortly after staging their arrests.
During the Clinton years, Arafat enjoyed unparalleled Oval Office access, visiting the White House more often than any other foreign leader.
