CARACAS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday called Israel's offensive in Gaza a Palestinian "holocaust" and said the presidents of Israel and the United States should be tried in international court."The Holocaust, that is what is happening right now in Gaza," Chavez said in televised comments. "The president of Israel at this moment should be taken to the International Criminal Court together with the President of the United States."
The socialist Chavez, a harsh critic of Israel and the United States, on Monday had accused Washington of poisoning the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to destabilize the Middle East and justify U.S.-backed Israeli incursions.
In a news conference broadcast by state-run Venezuelan television, President Hugo Chavez blasted the Israeli military. "They are cowards," he said. "It's as though a boxing professional were to come here and challenge you to box. Well, how courageous! How courageous is the Israeli army!" .
Israel is under international pressure to reach a cease-fire with Hamas militants and halt an offensive that has killed nearly 600 Palestinians, including more than 40 in a U.N. school sheltering civilians.
The United States, which Chavez describes as a decadent empire, firmly backs Israel -- its principal ally in the region.
Venezuela has expelled the ambassador to Israel in protest over the offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 600 Palestinians, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Source: REUTERSThe socialist Chavez, a harsh critic of Israel and the United States, on Monday had accused Washington of poisoning the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to destabilize the Middle East and justify U.S.-backed Israeli incursions.
In a news conference broadcast by state-run Venezuelan television, President Hugo Chavez blasted the Israeli military. "They are cowards," he said. "It's as though a boxing professional were to come here and challenge you to box. Well, how courageous! How courageous is the Israeli army!" .
Israel is under international pressure to reach a cease-fire with Hamas militants and halt an offensive that has killed nearly 600 Palestinians, including more than 40 in a U.N. school sheltering civilians.The United States, which Chavez describes as a decadent empire, firmly backs Israel -- its principal ally in the region.
Venezuela has expelled the ambassador to Israel in protest over the offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 600 Palestinians, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
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