Evo
Morales, the president of Bolivia, says he is breaking off ties with
Israel in protest against its war in Gaza, which has left more than
1,000 Palestinians dead.Morales said on Wednesday that he would seek to get top Israeli
officials, including Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, charged
with "genocide" in the International Criminal Court.The
Bolivian president also dismissed the United Nations and its
"Insecurity Council" for its "lukewarm" response to the crisis and said
the general assembly should hold an emergency session to condemn the
invasion."Considering these grave attacks against ... humanity, Bolivia will
stop having diplomatic relations with Israel," Morales told diplomats
in the Bolivian capital, La Paz.
Morales's move follows the
decision by his ally Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, to expel
Israel's ambassador in the country because of the offensive, calling it
a "holocaust".Morales expelled the US ambassador from Bolivia in September after
accusing him of encouraging violent protests against his government.Chavez did the same not long afterwards in "solidarity" with Morales.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have now died in Israel's offensive in
Gaza, around 40 per cent of whom were civilians, aid agencies and
Palestinian medics say.Thirteen Israelis have also died, four from rocket fire from Gaza.