Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the international Quartet's envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair on Monday evening.

Netanyahu told Blair, who represents the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union, that he looks forward to continuing working with Blair regarding the challenges Israel is facing.

"The Middle East doesn't stop for elections," Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to last week's Israeli national elections, in which his Likud-Beytenu union topped other parties with 31 seats out of the 120 seats in the next parliament.

"We need to work on peace and security issues and there's no better person to work with than with you," Netanyahu told Blair, who has been serving as an envoy to the region since 2007.

"I look forward to working with you on these issues," Blair replied, "We've got many challenges but I'm sure they can be overcome with good will and hard work," the former British premier added.

Direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians have yet to resume since talks were stalled in September 2010 after Israel refused to extend its freeze on settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.