After a year of trying to hammer out agreements between the Israelis and Palestinians, US secretary of state John Kerry has expressed his frustration with both sides.

Both sides blame the other for breaking agreements, and Mr Kerry has warned both sides his patience is running out.

He says he will "evaluate" the next steps in the peace process with president Barack Obama, but has warned there are "limits" to Washington's time.

"I will be having conversations with the administration ... including the president, and we're going to evaluate exactly what is possible and what is not possible," Mr Kerry told a press conference in Morocco's capital Rabat.

He said the peace process was not "open-ended", and that it was now time for a "reality check".

"There are limits to the amount of time and effort that the United States can spend if the parties themselves are unwilling to take constructive steps."

His comments come after tit-for-tat moves by the Israelis and Palestinians over the past week that have all but torpedoed the peace process Mr Kerry has relentlessly been driving.

The first speed bump came when Israel failed to free a fourth and final batch of veteran Arab prisoners as expected last weekend.

Then on Tuesday, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas applied to join 15 UN agencies, sending a signal that he is prepared to drum up international support on Palestine's path to statehood.

The move infuriated the Israelis who said the Palestinians had breached the conditions for agreeing to resume peace talks last July.

Mr Kerry said Washington currently had an "enormous amount on the plate", highlighting negotiations with the Russians over Ukraine, negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program and the conflict in Syria, as US other priorities.

"Both parties say they want to continue, neither party has said they want to call it off; but we're not going to sit there indefinitely ... this is not an open-ended effort."

ABC/wires