Venezuela and Bolivia Cut Diplomatic Ties with Israel

Venezuela and Bolivia both broke off diplomatic relations with Israel Wednesday, citing its refusal to heed recent UN resolutions regarding the attacks on the Gaza strip, which have killed over one thousand Palestinians and injured nearly 5,000. Carora, January 15, 2009 (venezuelanalysis.com)– Venezuela and Bolivia both broke off diplomatic relations with Israel Wednesday, citing its refusal to heed recent UN resolutions regarding the attacks on the Gaza strip, which have killed over one thousand Palestinians and injured nearly 5,000.

“Israel has repeatedly ignored the calls of the United Nations, consistently and shamelessly violating the resolutions approved by overwhelming majorities of member countries, increasingly placing itself on the margin of international law,” Venezuela’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Israel’s state terrorism has cost the lives of the most vulnerable and innocent: children, women, and the elderly,” the statement continued.

The complete diplomatic rupture comes a week Venezuela expelled the Israeli ambassador from the country in protest of the Israeli strikes. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in cities countrywide in recent weeks, with marches arriving to the doors of the Israeli and Egyptian embassies in Caracas.

Earlier in the day, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced a similar action by his government, including that it would formally accuse Israel’s leaders for war crimes in the International Criminal Court.

“They’ve made the world move backwards with crimes against humanity that we haven’t seen since Rwanda and Yugoslavia,” Morales said.

Morales also called for the restructuring of the United Nations, blaming the “insecurity council” for its inability to bring an end to the attacks.

“The international community cannot allow this genocide in Palestine to go on,” Morales insisted.

Bolivia’s ambassador to Venezuela, Jorge Alvarado, later announced that Bolivia, despite its own difficulties, would work with Venezuela to send food aid to the embattled Palestinian territory. Venezuela’s first aid shipment, containing 12.5 tons of medicine, arrived to Egypt last night.