UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday said he was extending a hand of peace to the Palestinian people, but accused its president Mahmud Abbas of rejecting peace efforts after making a UN statehood bid.

“I extend my hand to the Palestinian people with whom we seek a just and lasting peace,” the Israeli premier told the United Nations General Assembly.

“The truth is that Israel wants peace, the truth is that I want peace… The truth is that we cannot reach peace through UN resolutions but through negotiations. The truth is that so far the Palestinians have refused to negotiate,” he said.

Abbas made history in his people’s long quest for statehood as he formally asked the United Nations on Friday to admit Palestine as a full member state, handing over a formal application to UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

The Palestinian leader won huge applause and a partial standing ovation as he later addressed the UN General Assembly and vowed the Palestinians were ready to return to peace talks if Israeli settlement activities cease.

In his speech, Netanyahu repeatedly called on Abbas to resume peace talks.

“Let’s get on with it, let’s negotiate peace,” Netanyahu said shortly after Abbas’s emotional speech.

In a dramatic plea the Israeli leader even called on Abbas to meet with him Friday at the United Nations to discuss Middle East peace efforts, saying that for once they were in the same city, even the same building.

“Let’s meet today in the United Nations,” he said.

“I cannot make peace alone. I cannot make peace without you,” Netanyahu said, adding “we are both sons of Abraham… our destinies are intertwined.”

The hardline premier reiterated his demand that a future Palestinian state should be demilitarized and recognize Israel as a Jewish state, dismissing Abbas’s earlier claim that Jewish settlements were destroying chances for peace.

“The core of the conflict is not the settlements… The settlements are a result of the conflict, it is an issue that has to be addressed and resolved,” Netanyahu said.

The heart of the dispute is “the refusal of the Palestinians to recognize the Jewish state in any borders,” Netanyahu said.

The United States and the European Union had spearheaded efforts to dissuade the Palestinians from making the statehood request.

Netanyahu said Israel was prepared to make “painful compromises.”

“The Palestinians should live in a future state of their own, but they should be ready for compromise,” the Israeli leader said, adding the Palestinians had to ensure Israel’s security.