Israel weighs expelling Venezuelan envoys after Chavez dismisses ambassador

Israel is considering expelling Venezuelan diplomats from Israel in response to the expulsion of Israel's envoys from Venezuela, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Venezuela expelled the ambassador to Israel on Tuesday in protest over the offensive in Gaza only hours after leftist President Hugo Chavez called the attacks a Palestinian "holocaust."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel's ambassador has been informed in writing that he and his diplomatic staff must leave Venezuela within 72 hours. He said the letter did not refer to any severing of diplomatic relations.

Hamas, meanwhile expressed its appreciation Wednesday for the move and taunted other Arab countries for maintaining their relations with Israel.

"As we look with great satisfaction at this courageous step, we are surprised and deplore that some Arab countries still allow the Israeli ambassador to remain in their capitals," the group said in a statement.

Egypt and Jordan, the two main Arab nations which have signed peace treaties with Israel, have not expelled their Israeli envoys.

The socialist Chavez, a harsh critic of Israel and the United States, in recent years has frequently withdrawn Venezuela's diplomatic envoys amid bilateral disputes and last year kicked out the U.S. ambassador over a conflict involving allied Bolivia.

The OPEC nation's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israel's campaign constituted "flagrant violations of International Law" and the use of "state terrorism."

"For the reasons mentioned above, the government of Venezuela has decided to expel the ambassador of Israel and part of the personnel of the Embassy of Israel," the statement said.

The Israeli embassy did not respond to phone calls requesting comment.

Chavez in 2006 threatened to break ties with Israel over its military campaign in Lebanon in a war of words that led both nations to withdraw their envoys.

On Monday he accused Washington of poisoning the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to destabilize the Middle East and justify U.S.-backed Israeli incursions into Arab countries.

Israel is under international pressure to reach a ceasefire with Hamas militants and halt an offensive that has killed nearly 600 Palestinians, including more than 40 in a UN school sheltering civilians.

"The Holocaust, that is what is happening right now in Gaza," Chavez said in televised comments earlier on Tuesday.

"The president of Israel at this moment should be taken to the International Criminal Court together with the President of the United States."