The Israeli and the Palestinian leaders have welcomed the invitation from the United States to resume direct peace talks next month being held after a gap of 20 months. The talks which broke after the start of Gaza war in December 2008, however, look difficult given the political deadlock between the two sides. It remains to be seen how both sides overcome their differences as serious disagreements exist on the core issues. The sensitive areas include construction of Jewish settlements in occupied areas, status of Jerusalem, borders of a future Palestinian state. Hamas, which rules Palestinian area of Gaza, is not included in the negotiation. The Palestinian chief negotiator said the talks should be productive and hoped the two sides would be genuine partners in peace. The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in a statement has agreed to resume negotiations with Israel to resolve all final status issues. The statement follows the invitation by the quartet of Middle East peace negotiators – the UN, Russia, the EU and the US, which has invited Israeli and Palestinian leaders to attend direct talks in Washington on September 2nd. Announcing the planned meeting, which is due to be hosted by President Obama in Washington, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hoped a comprehensive peace agreement could be reached within one year on final status issues.