The Taming of Bibi: Did a Mellower Netanyahu Debut in Washington?

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But Netanyahu's relaxation last week didn't last long. After waking up on his flight shortly before his arrival in Washington, he learned that Hamas terrorists had reportedly killed four Israelis near Hebron. After learning of the incident, Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev, changed from a T-shirt into a pinstripe suit before issuing a statement. His hands folded together, Regev said: "We want the peace talks to be successful, but this attack underscores the need for security for the Israeli people."

In the hotel lobby in Washington, Daniel Dayan, the leader of the settlements, ran back and forth. He's always there when peace is on the agenda. And he's always ready to tell anyone who will listen that Israel should not clear out of the settlements. After all, he said, you can see what will happen if they do.

Dayan and his prime minister get what they want. Hillary Clinton received Netanyahu on the same day he arrived, and they spoke for twice as long as planned. On Wednesday morning he had the first meeting with Obama, a two-hour long, one-on-one discussion, after which they both went before the cameras and, in a move that came as a surprise, give a joint statement -- an honor not bestowed upon any of the other guests. Obama didn't mention the settlements.

The Arabs understood the signals. They labored over how Abbas could save face while giving up his threat of breaking off talks. He could symbolically boycott the peace process by being absent from one of the meetings, the Egyptians suggested.

'Partner in Peace'

Netanyahu exuded more confidence from day to day, and his team appeared to be in top spirits -- as if they were on a company outing. The Israeli prime minister called Abbas a "partner in peace," abandoning his original "no partner" rhetoric. Netanyahu can also imagine finding a solution to the "90-year conflict."

The second half of the meeting took place on Thursday at the State Department. Hillary Clinton sat between Netanyahu and Abbas and beamed. Abbas weaved the words "end of the conflict" into his speech, and the Israelis clearly liked hearing it. And hadn't Netanyahu just mentioned "West Bank" instead of "Judea and Samaria"?

Hillary smiled in a motherly way from one leader to the next, but the expression on her face seemed to be saying: Come on boys, don't leave me hanging.

"And now it's time to get to work," she said at the end of the meeting.

Then they all stood up and left -- not because they desperately wanted to talk about Jerusalem or the question of refugees. No, the first item on the agenda was a far less prickly one: deciding on the venue for the next meeting. With uncertainty about Mubarak's health, they decided to meet again in two weeks in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Indeed, a first real success in the path to peace.

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• Part 1: Did a Mellower Netanyahu Debut in Washington?
• Part 2: The '90-Year Conflict'