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Chavez 'sure' to cut Venezuela ties to Israel
ABN
Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez, in a television appearance Tuesday
AFP
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 09 08 06President Hugo Chavez said late Tuesday he wants to break Venezuela's diplomatic ties to Israel, blasting the Jewish state's attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a speech broadcast on state television, Chavez said it was "for sure" that Venezuela was severing relations with Israel following two days of diplomatic tit-for-tat embassy withdrawals.
"They also withdrew their ambassador and what is for sure is that we are breaking diplomatic relations," he said.
"I have no interest in maintaining diplomatic relations, nor an office, nor trade nor anything with a state like Israel."
Israel withdrew its ambassador to Venezuela on Monday over Chavez's opposition to the Israeli attacks against the Shiite militia Hezbollah, based in southern Lebanon.
More than 1,000 people, mostly civilians in Lebanon, have been killed since the fighting began on July 12 after two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hezbollah in a cross-border raid.
Chavez had announced Sunday that Venezuela had pulled its charge d'affaires from Israel to protest the offensive in Lebanon, saying Israel "had lost its mind."
In his television appearance Tuesday, during which he relaunched a 110-million-dollar program to assist 200,000 mothers, Chavez said: "You see what Israel is doing: bombing cities, finishing off the entire country, it doesn't matter that there are children, women, dead mothers embracing their children."
The Venezuelan recently visited Iran, which supports Hezbollah, where he accused Israel of "terrorism and pure fascism" and received a warm welcome from anti-American President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has previously called for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
AFP 09 0300 GMT 08 06
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