"The way to reach an historical peace between our two peoples is to sit around the negotiating table seriously and continuously and not to leave it," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said the Israelis had carried out a series of gestures to initiate the negotiations and that Palestinians held direct talks in previous years during settlement construction.

The Israeli Prime Minister said he hopes Palestinians will "continue the talks to reach a framework agreement within a year."

Palestinian leaders meeting in the West Bank on September 2 backed a halt to peace talks with Israel if it does not freeze settlement construction.

Leaders from the Palestine Liberation Organization and Abbas' Fatah movement met in Ramallah to discuss the direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, said Mahmoud Dahlan, the Fatah official.

A stumbling block to the continuation of the talks could be Israel's settlement activity, he said.

An Israeli settlement construction freeze expired last on October 3, and the Palestinians have said they want it extended or they will leave the talks. Israel, however, has not yet agreed to reinstating it.