Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today she “could have been clearer” when speaking about President Barack Obama’s policy toward Israeli West Bank settlements during a visit to Jerusalem.

“I think President Obama was absolutely clear,” she said in an interview on Al Jazeera. “He wanted a halt to all settlement activity. And perhaps those of us who work with him and for him could have been clearer in communicating that that is his policy, that is what we’re committed to doing.”

Clinton was criticized by Arab leaders after hailing as “unprecedented” on Oct. 31 a proposal from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to limit settlement expansion as a move to resume peace talks with the Palestinians. Yesterday she said the offer “falls far short” of U.S. calls for a total settlement freeze and announced a sudden trip to Egypt to confer with President Hosni Mubarak about the stalled Mideast peace process.

Clinton also said yesterday at a regional forum in Marrakech, Morocco, that steps to improve West Bank security by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad were “unprecedented” and that Israel “should reciprocate.”

The decision to clarify her remarks underscores the delicate balancing act the Obama administration faces in nudging Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

Last May, Clinton said only a complete construction halt in the West Bank would be acceptable. Last month, Obama referred only to “restraint” in settlement activity, not a “freeze.”

Clinton came under fire from Arab leaders and media for her enthusiasm over Netanyahu’s proposal to limit settlements. Hours earlier, she met in Abu Dhabi with Abbas, who rejected compromises short of a total settlement freeze as a precondition for renewing peace talks.

‘Deeply Disappointed’

Before Clinton tempered her earlier remarks, Amre Moussa, secretary-general of the 22-member Arab League and a senior Egyptian diplomat, told reporters he feared the peace process had been crippled by her comments in Jerusalem.

“I still wait until we have our meetings,” said Moussa, also in Morocco for the Forum for the Future conference. “But failure is in the atmosphere all over.”

“All of us, including Saudi Arabia, including Egypt, are deeply disappointed” by Clinton’s words in Jerusalem, he said. She left the impression that “Israel can get away with anything.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem at cbendavid@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 3, 2009 09:46 EST