He said it had been painful and difficult to give up Israeli land, but he and his team had "fought like lions" to reduce Palestinian expectations.

"We did something good for the state of Israel," he said.

Earlier several protesters were arrested in the West Bank as hardline Jewish settlers voiced their opposition to the agreement by blocking roads in the territory.

Hardliners accuse Mr Netanyahu of treason for surrendering Israeli land

Lining the route from the airport, demonstrators gave the prime minister a hostile reception as he drove into Jerusalem on Sunday evening.

Right-wing opposition politicians also expressed anger at the deal, accusing the prime minister of treason.

On Monday he faces a no-confidence motion in the Knesset - the Israeli parliament.

Mr Netanyahu, whose fragile coalition has a one seat majority, will have to work hard to sell the deal to hardliners, many of who voted for him in 1996 but who are now threatening to force early elections.

Defending the deal

The BBC's Paul Adams: Fears that this the start of a potentially violent campaign

Speaking on arrival at Ben Gurion airport, Mr Netanyahu stressed that his government was the only one that would still fight for Jewish settlers and defend Israeli security.

He insisted that the Israeli withdrawal would only be carried out if the Palestinians met their obligations on Israel's security.

"They give, and only then do we give," he said.

Arafat clamps down

Palestinian negotiator, Hanan Ashrawi, said Mr Netanyahu's statement was "clearly pandering to the extremists."

There has been a heavy police presence in the West Bank

But Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat faces opposition too.

Palestinian forces fought a brief gun-battle in the town of Ramalah as they attempted to seize unlicensed weapons held by members of Mr Arafat's own Fatah faction.

In Nablus, an influential Muslim cleric was arrested after a television interview in which he criticised the new agreement.

Human rights monitors fear that civil liberties will suffer as Mr Arafat strives to fulfil his new security obligations.

Historic land

Jeremy Bowen reports on the bitter infighting surrounding the deal

Under the agreement, Israel will transfer a further 13% of the West Bank to the Palestinians in return for security commitments and the cancellation of the PLO charter's call for the destruction of Israel.

Addressing the settlers protests Mr Netanyahu spoke of his "pain" at relinquishing land for peace.

"Every mountain, every valley, every hill is a part of our history," he said. "To hand over even a centimetre of the land of Israel to the Palestinians is very, very difficult."

Twenty protesters were arrested

Mr Netanyahu was supported by the new Israeli Foreign Minister, Ariel Sharon, who also attended the talks.

The former general said the peace process was "almost as difficult as war".