WASHINGTON — President Obama yesterday called on the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians to “walk the path of peace” and reach a comprehensive agreement that will finally end decades of bloodshed.

“Do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?” Obama asked as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sat nearby.

“When we come together, we will not be alone,” he added in comments before a private dinner with the leaders in the small Old Family Dining Room of the White House.

“We’ll be joined by the generations — those who have gone before and those who have fallen. Each of you are the heirs of the peacemakers who dared greatly.”

The White House

POWER DINNER: President Obama breaks bread at the White House last night with (clockwise from left, around the table) Jordan’s King Abdullah, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Tony Blair and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

With Obama looking on, Netanyahu and Abbas twice shook hands.

The kickoff of the peace talks presents Obama with a golden opportunity to prove to the many critics of his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize that he is worthy of the honor.

The president’s remarks and the dinner that followed came after a day of whirlwind one-on-one meetings in the White House featuring Netanyahu, Abbas, King Abdullah of Jordan and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

Abbas urged Israel to freeze settlement construction in areas the Palestinians want as part of their projected new state, and to end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the terror group Hamas.

“We will spare no effort and we will work diligently and tirelessly to ensure these negotiations achieve their cause,” Abbas said.

Urging them on, Obama said, “This moment of opportunity may not soon come again.”

Each of the leaders, however, made plain that their own national interests must be satisfied.

“We do not seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror,” said Netanyahu. And he stressed the central importance of security assurances for the Jewish state as part of any land-for-peace agreement.

“We left Lebanon, we got terror. We left Gaza, we got terror. We want to ensure that territory we concede will not be turned into a third Iranian-sponsored terror enclave aimed at the heart of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

As violence back in the Middle East continued to mar the start of negotiations, Obama said he was “hopeful, cautiously hopeful, but hopeful” that a lasting agreement could be reached.

King Abdullah said, “Mr. President, we need your support as a mediator, honest broker and a partner. If hopes are disappointed again, the price of failure will be too high for all.”

Mubarak declared, “I say to Israel: Seize the current opportunity. Do not let it slip through your fingers. Make comprehensive peace your goal.