"We want President Abbas to grasp my hand, get into a room, shake it, sit down and negotiate a final settlement of peace between Israel and the Palestinians," he told the US news channel.
He added he was confident a Middle East peace deal, which has eluded successive Israeli, Palestinian and US leaders for over six decades, could be struck.
"Don't be so skeptical," he said. "Raise your hopes. It's summer time and we can perform miracles if we set our sights to them."
Israel was Wednesday hailing a new chapter of warm ties with the United States after the upbeat summit between Netanyahu and Obama.
"A president now working with the premier, not against him," thrilled the right-wing Jerusalem Post. "This time, publicly at least, there were none of the harsh demands, none of the hectoring, none of the patronizing."
But the Israeli premier may find the UN secretary general less forthcoming during their talks later Wednesday.
Ban said Tuesday that while Israel's easing of its four-year blockade of the Gaza Strip was welcome, more needed to be done to ease Palestinian hardships.
His spokesman noted that Ban "has long called for a significant shift in strategy towards meeting the great needs of Gaza's population.
"Further steps must now follow to meet those needs and to allow the United Nations to accelerate and expand its efforts."
The UN chief has demanded Israel lift its blockade of the impoverished Gaza Strip, imposed in the wake of the election victory by Hamas Islamic militants who now control the Palestinian territory.
Israel has so far given the go-ahead for the international community to import construction materials into Gaza. And Netanyahu said Wednesday further steps were under consideration.
"There are more things we are prepared to do... There are things like additional easing of movements, some questions of economic projects," Netanyahu told ABC. "There are quite a few. The point is we are prepared to do them."
The change in policy was triggered by the international condemnation of an Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla trying to break the blockade that led to the deaths of nine Turkish activists on May 31.
Israel has set up a commission of inquiry into the events with the participation of British and Canadian observers, but some nations are calling at the UN for a fuller international probe.
After Tuesday's White House meeting, Obama said he hoped for direct peace talks to start before the end of September when an Israeli freeze on settlement building is due to expire.
"I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants peace. I think he's willing to take risks for peace," Obama told reporters.
He also strongly disputed suggestions that he had distanced the United States from Israel, sharing a prolonged handshake with the visiting Israeli leader for the cameras.
Netanyahu did not say directly whether he would extend the freeze on settlement construction in Arab east Jerusalem, but hinted it was a possibility.
"I think once we get there realities may change, but I think the most important reality is that we don't stick on all sorts of requirements and grievances," he told ABC.
During his talks with Ban, Netanyahu is expected to repeat his call for global support of US-led efforts to keep up diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran.
Western powers accuse Tehran of seeking to build an atomic bomb, charges vehemently denied by the Islamic republic.
Late Wednesday, Netanyahu will address Jewish leaders in New York, and on Thursday he gives a speech to the Council for Foreign Relations and meets with former president Bill Clinton.
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