Israeli opposition leader Shelly Yachimovich on Sunday urged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to seize the chance of resuming peace negotiations as the two met for talks at his West Bank headquarters.

According to a statement from her office, the two discussed "the situation in the Middle East and the chances of making progress between Israel and the Palestinians".

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing on Monday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to follow him later this week.

Abbas's three-day trip -- the first by a Middle Eastern leader since Xi took office in March -- ends Tuesday, overlapping with a five-day visit to China by Netanyahu that begins in Shanghai on Monday and ends in the capital.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday announced the start of talks on forming a national unity government, the official WAFA news agency said.

The announcement came on the last day of the statutory two-week period after the April 13 resignation of prime minister Salam Fayyad from the Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed U.S. efforts to revive the Middle East peace process with the Palestinian leader on Sunday and was to meet Turkey's prime minister for talks on getting its relations with Israel back on track.

Kerry and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who have met several times recently, talked for an hour-and-a-half to "continue the conversation that they've been having for several weeks now about how to get both sides (the Palestinians and the Israelis) back to the table," a State Department official said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Istanbul on Sunday, the State Department said, as a U.S.-led peace push focusing on the Palestinian economy steps up.

Kerry and Abbas, who have met several times recently, will "continue the conversation that they've been having for several weeks now about how to get both sides back to the table," a State Department official said.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas pledged to launch talks "in the near future" on forming a national unity cabinet, following the resignation of prime minister Salam Fayyad.

Abbas made the remarks late Thursday at a meeting of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was attended by Fayyad.

Top U.S. diplomat John Kerry regretted the resignation of Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad and urged Palestinians Sunday to find the right person to take on the tough job and work with the U.S.

Fayyad quit after months of tensions with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and only days after talks with Kerry who visited Israel and the Palestinian territories last week seeking to map out the contours of a new peace plan.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad resigned on Saturday, leaving the Palestinians without one of their most moderate and well-respected voices just as the U.S. is launching a new push for Mideast peace.

A statement from the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said President Mahmoud Abbas met with Fayyad late in the day and accepted his resignation, thanking him for his service. According to the statement, Abbas asked Fayyad to continue to serve in his post until Abbas forms a new government.

Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad is to present his resignation to president Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, a senior Palestinian official said.

Abbas and Fayyad are known to have been at odds over a raft of issues but their relationship took a nose dive last month when Fayyad accepted his finance minister's resignation only for it to be rejected by Abbas.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird held what he termed "positive" talks with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Saturday despite their differences.

Baird, on a four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and foreign minister Riyad al-Malki.