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EU Pulls Back from Confronting U.S. Over Gaza
(Financial Times-UK) - EU foreign ministers have pulled back from a confrontation with the U.S. over President Bush's support for Israel's unilateral "disengagement" plan from Gaza. During an intense debate by EU foreign ministers meeting in Tullamore, Ireland, Jack Straw, British foreign secretary, took the lead in supporting the U.S.-backed plan. Joschka Fischer, German foreign minister, and Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, also pushed the EU towards a pragmatic approach. They argued that the EU faced the choice of trying to influence how Israel would withdraw from Gaza and particularly how to help the Palestinians take control over it, or risk losing long-term influence in the region.