U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met late Wednesday in London with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for their first face-to-face talks since the peace process collapsed last month, U.S. officials said.

The two were meeting in an upscale hotel for what U.S. officials have billed as "informal" talks, seeking to downplay any hopes of a breakthrough in Kerry's ill-fated bid to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in London on Thursday, a top U.S. official said, adding the "door remains open" for peace talks.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed Monday that the top U.S. diplomat would meet Abbas for the first time since peace negotiations with Israel collapsed last month.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas praised on Wednesday evening the Maronite Patriarch's anticipated visit to Jerusalem, considering that it contributes to “strengthening Muslim-Christian coexistence as well as the Arabic identity” of the occupied Palestinian territories.

"We highly appreciate, respect and welcome Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's visit to the Holy Land and meeting with the city's people,” Abbas said in a telephone call with Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, according to a statement published on the state-run National News Agency.

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice met Israeli leaders Wednesday after the collapse of U.S.-brokered Middle East peace talks and amid allegations Israel was spying on its principal ally.

Rice started her visit by meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas held "positive" talks with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Doha Monday in the first meeting since their rival movements signed a surprise unity deal last month.

The meeting began at 0900 GMT shortly after Abbas held talks with Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, a senior Palestinian official told Agence France Presse in Ramallah.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday that a push for unity with Hamas by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas was "unhelpful" but vowed America would not give up trying to broker peace in the Middle East.

The proposed tie-up between Abbas's Fatah faction and the radical Islamist group earlier prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt peace talks on the grounds Hamas wanted to "liquidate" Israel.

This week's Palestinian reconciliation deal faces a swift reality check, with President Mahmoud Abbas the focus of both Israeli fury and U.S. concern and Hamas seeking to salvage relations with Egypt.

"Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) had no option but to reconcile," Naji Sharab, a political science professor at Gaza's al-Azhar University, told Agence France Presse.

Israel's security cabinet was to meet on Thursday morning to weigh its response to a unity deal struck between the Palestinian leadership and the Hamas rulers of Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted angrily to Wednesday's agreement between the rival factions accusing Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas of choosing "Hamas, not peace".

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will meet jointly Sunday with U.S. envoy Martin Indyk, as attempts continue to prevent the collapse of peace negotiations, officials close to the talks said.

The first three-way meeting since Wednesday comes as Washington reviews its push for a peace deal after a spiral of tit-for-tat moves by Israel and the Palestinians took hard-won negotiations close to collapse.

Washington said Friday it was reviewing its push for a Middle East peace agreement as a spiral of tit-for-tat moves by Israel and the Palestinians brought hard-won talks close to collapse.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has invested more than a year of intensive shuttle diplomacy in the talks process, said there were "limits" to the time Washington could devote to it.