Israel's Ambassador to Venezuela has been expelled amid claims his country is carrying out genocide.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called the Israeli army 'cowards,' while the foreign minister alleged the Jewish state was engaged in 'state terrorism.'

In a formal announcement of the expulsion Tuesday the Venezuelan foreign minister said, 'In this tragic and indignant hour, the people of Venezuela manifest their unconditional solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people, share in the sadness that overcomes thousands of families through the loss of their loved ones, and extends to them a hand by affirming that the government of Venezuela will not rest until it sees those responsible for these criminal atrocities severely punished.'

The statement went on to say that Venezuela 'condemns strongly the flagrant violations of international law by Israel,' and 'denounces their planned utilization of state terrorism.'

In a news conference on national television, Chavez took aim at 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!'

Chavez called on Jewish people around the world to oppose 'these criminal policies of the state of Israel that recall the worst pages of the history of the 20th century.'

'With the genocide of the Palestinian people, the state of Israel will never be able to offer its people the perspective of a peace that is both necessary and long-lasting,' he said.

'The Holocaust, that is what is happening right now in Gaza. The president of Israel at this moment should be taken to the International Criminal Court together with the President of

the United States,' he said.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said he hadn't heard the statements by the Venezuelan leaders but told CNN, 'You know the regime in Venezuela has been one of the few countries in the world that gives automatic support to the Iranian extremists, and it doesn't surprise me that they have affinity with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah,'

He said the expulsion by Venezuela would not be repeated by other countries, even in the Middle East. 'I think, even in the Muslim and Arab countries, there is a fair amount of understanding for what Israel has had to do here,' he said.

Mauritania, one of three Arab League countries that has diplomatic ties with Israel, withdrew its ambassador to the country on Monday.

Venezuela last withdrew its ambassador from Israel in 2006 during the Lebanon War.

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