Caracas responds to a recent Tel Aviv decision to expel the Venezuelan chargés d'affaires, describing the Israeli move as "late" and "weak". "The response of the state of Israel is weak, late, and in any case for us it's an honor," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told the Qatar-based television network Al-Jazeera. "We're proud that the state of Israel that exists today, led by these criminals, made this decision."
Israel issued an expulsion order for the Venezuelan diplomat on Tuesday, giving him until Friday to depart for Caracas.
"Due to the decision of Venezuela to cut relations with us a few weeks ago, we told the Venezuelan charge d'affaires that he and his staff should leave Israel," said Israeli foreign ministry official Lior Hayat. "We told them they are declared persona non grata in Israel."
Maduro, however, defended the Venezuelan decision to expel the Israeli diplomat, confirming that in his opinion Tel Aviv violated basic human rights with its military action.
"Our decisions were just, correct, aligned with and adjusted with the spirit of our constitution, which mandates that we seek international peace," he said in a statement published on the foreign ministry website on Wednesday.
Caracas expelled Israeli ambassador Shlomo Cohen and his staff on January 6 and broke off diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv on Jan. 14 in protest against the Israeli onslaught against Gaza.
According to Maduro, the move was compatible with its support for the creation of a Palestinian state.