205. What was the main negotiators’ opinion over the failure of Camp David 2000?

President Bill Clinton accused Yasser Arafat: “I regret that in 2000 Arafat missed the opportunity to bring that nation into being and pray for the day when the dreams of the Palestinian people for a state and a better life will be realized in a just and lasting peace.” He also accused him of not presenting a counter-offer to those by Barak and Clinton. Ehud Barak defined Yasser Arafat’s behavior as a “disoriented act to demand so many Israeli concessions as possible without having the intention to reach a peace agreement or ending the conflict”. After his return to Israel, Ehud Barak said “there is no partner for achieving peace in Palestine” and this sentence severely damaged the hopes of those who supported Oslo. Dennis Ross, the envoy sent by the United States for the Middle East and key negotiator in the summit, summarized in his book The Missing Peace the lack of will of Arafat to sign a final agreement with Israel that would end the demands from the Palestinians, particularly their right of return. For Ross, Arafat really wanted “a solution of one state covering historical Palestine”. Ross also cited Saudi Prince Bandar while they were negotiating: “If Arafat does not accept what is available now, it won’t be a tragedy, it will be a crime”. Robert Malley, Clinton’s collaborator in the negotiations, said in an article in The New York Review of Books (Jul/8/2001) that the failure of the Camp David summit should be divided between the three leaders that were present: Arafat, Barak and Clinton, and not blame only Barak as some barely sustained analyses assert.