Bolivian President Evo Morales announced Jan. 14 he is breaking diplomatic ties with Israel in protest against its offensive in Gaza, which has left more than 1,000 Palestinians dead. Morales also said he would seek to have top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, charged with "genocide" in the International Criminal Court.

"Considering these grave attacks against...humanity, Bolivia will stop having diplomatic relations with Israel," Morales told diplomats in La Paz. Morales also dismissed the UN 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. He also said that Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, should be stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize for failing to stop the invasion. (AlJazeera, Jan. 15)

Venezuela and Mauritania have also broken ties with Israel over the Gaza offensive.

See our last posts on Bolivia, Gaza, and Latin American solidarity with Palestine.

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