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Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez (right) wears a Bolivian poncho as he speaks to a crowd while Bolivian president Evo Morales looks on. Photo: AP [file]Bolivian President Evo Morales said Bolivia has broken relations with Israel over its invasion of the Gaza Strip and will seek to charge top Israeli officials with genocide in the International Criminal Court.Morales said Wednesday the Israeli attack "seriously threatened world peace." He is calling for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to face criminal charges for the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians.Morales chided the United Nations' "Insecurity Council" for its "lukewarm" response to the crisis. He called for the UN to hold an emergency general session to condemn the invasion.He also said President Shimon Peres should be stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize for failing to stop the invasion.On Monday, Israel was considering whether to send a charge d'affaires back to Venezuela, after Hugo Chavez's government made clear that although it wanted to expel Israel's ambassador, it did not want to close the embassy or cut off diplomatic ties.Venezuela's Foreign Ministry announced last week it was expelling Israel's ambassador and other Israeli diplomats. Ambassador Shlomo Cohen has since returned to Israel.Since then, however, Venezuela has indicated to the Foreign Ministry that it did not intend to cut diplomatic ties with Israel and would accept another official who would serve as a charge d'affaires.Israel, according to Foreign Ministry officials, has not decided yet whether to send anyone back to Caracas. Likewise, it still has not decided how to respond to the expulsion of the ambassador, and whether it would - in kind - expel Venezuela's representative from Israel.While the Israeli embassy in Caracas has had little contact over the last few years with Chavez's radical government, it has maintained close ties with the 15,000-strong Jewish community there-a consideration in deciding whether or not to dispatch another representative to the country.
Herb Keinon contributed to this report
Herb Keinon contributed to this report
By ASSOCIATED PRESS--LA PAZ, Bolivia
As in the days of Noah...
