Venezuela expelled the ambassador of Israel on Tuesday in protest over the offensive in Gaza Strip only hours after President Hugo Chavez called the attacks a Palestinian "holocaust." Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israel's campaign constituted "flagrant violations of International Law" and the use of "state terrorism."
"For the reasons mentioned above, the government of Venezuela has decided to expel the Ambassador of Israel and part of the personnel of the Embassy of Israel," the statement added.
Chavez in 2006 threatened to break ties with Israel over its military campaign in Lebanon. On Monday he accused Washington of poisoning the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to destabilize the Middle East.
"The Holocaust, that is what is happening right now in Gaza," Chavez said in televised comments earlier on Tuesday. "The president of Israel at this moment should be taken to the International Criminal Court together with the President of the United States," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
