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."

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.

"No one realizes the value of peace more than those who have known war and havoc."

Formal face-to-face negotiations at the State Department begin today, and the White House is aiming for a peace deal in a year's time.

In his remarks, Netanyahu pleaded for an end to conflict "once and for all."

"I came here to find a historic compromise," he said, turning to Abbas.

"Israelis and Palestinians must learn to live next to one another and with one another.

"But every peace begins with leaders. President Abbas, you are my partner in peace. It is up to us to overcome the agonizing conflict between our people and to forge a new beginning.

"The Jewish people are not strangers in our homeland, the land of our forefathers," he said.

"But we recognize that other people share this land with us. And I came here today to find a historic compromise that will enable both people to live in peace, security and dignity. I didn't come here to win an argument. I came here to forge peace."

The talks came amidst stepped-up violence.

Israeli police said Palestinian terrorists wounded two Israelis driving in the West Bank yesterday in the second such attack since the peace talks began at the White House.

On Tuesday, Hamas gunmen ambushed and murdered four Jewish settlers, including a pregnant woman. At their burials yesterday, a rabbi demanded vengeance.

"God, avenge the spilled blood of your servants!" Rabbi Dov Lior said in his eulogy. "There is an army which must be used."

Relatives, including some of the seven orphaned children of the slain settlers, cried and tore their clothing in mourning before the emotional ceremony in the synagogue of the victims' Beit Hagai settlement.

In Washington, Obama spoke to reporters before the meetings, warning Hamas that its "senseless slaughter" of innocent civilians would not dampen his efforts for peace.

"There are going to be extremists and rejectionists who, rather than seeking peace, are going to be seeking destruction," Obama said.

"The tragedy that we saw yesterday, where people were gunned down on the street by terrorists who are purposely trying to undermine these talks, is an example of what we're up against.

"But I want everybody to be very clear: The United States is going to be unwavering in its support of Israel's security, and we are going to push back against these kinds of terrorist activities.

"And so the message should go out to Hamas and everyone else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us."

churt@nypost.com