Not to be confused with the iftar dinner Obama held at the White House.

(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration announced Sunday that Israeli and Palestinian representatives will meet in Washington on Monday evening to resume talks aimed at reaching a “final status agreement” that has eluded a succession of Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. leaders for decades.

The State Department’s newly-posted Monday schedule for Secretary of State John Kerry shows that he will host an iftar dinner – marking the end of the day’s Ramadan fasting – at the State Department on Monday night for the head of the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams. The event is closed to the media.

In a brief statement that made no reference to multiple past failures or the magnitude of the challenge ahead, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the meetings on Monday night and Tuesday would be “an opportunity to develop a procedural workplan for how the parties can proceed with the negotiations in the coming months.”

“The United States and the parties are looking forward to beginning these substantive discussions and in moving forward toward a final status agreement,” she said.=