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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Venezuela's Chavez wins new fans in Palestine |
| 2009-01-13 |
| Venezuelan flags and portraits of President Hugo Chavez have been flying high during protests in the Occupied West Bank against Israel's bloody assault on the Gaza Strip. The Venezuelan president's decision on January 6 to expel Israel's ambassador from Caracas - the only country apart from Mauritania, which withdraw its envoy from Tel Aviv, to take such a large diplomatic step - has made the left-wing South American leader a hero to Palestinians. Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza, has welcomed Chavez's "courageous decision," while Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, head of Lebanon's Hizbullah, urged Arab states to follow the Venezuelan president's example. Chavez on Saturday accused Israel of being the "murder arm" of the United States and said the solution to the Gaza crisis was in the hands of Barack Obama when he becomes US president later this month. Mohammad al-Lahham, an MP for the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Chavez was "a symbol of the struggle for liberty, like Che Guevara. This distinguishes him from the world's other presidents." His opposition to Washington, Israel's loyal ally, over the invasion of Iraq and to the Israeli war against Lebanon in 2006 have made Chavez a symbol for all peoples who "are resisting and fighting against occupation," Lahham added. Venezuelan flags and portraits of Chavez could be seen lofted by demonstrators in the Occupied West Bank towns of Bethlehem, Ramallah and Hebron during rallies last week. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Congrats Hugo, The worlds biggest shit heap thinks the world of you. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2009-01-13 10:39 |
| #1 losers unite |
| Posted by: Glolusing Barnsmell3409 2009-01-13 02:24 |