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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1740630220070417
Israel, Palestinians, U.S. Set Benchmarks for Talks
[Reuters] Under U.S. auspices, Israeli and Palestinian leaders are drawing up lists of confidence-building steps to help guide talks they have agreed to hold every two weeks, U.S. diplomats said on Tuesday. "The idea of having benchmarks is setting goals that can be met in a certain time frame...it provides accountability on the working level," one U.S. official said. "These are small steps that each side is doing to build confidence." The U.S. is seeking to shape a "political horizon" for both sides while it tries to win Arab support for its policies in Iraq and towards Iran, and sideline Hamas Islamists that lead a Palestinian unity government.