Updated on Thursday, January 15, 2009, 00:00 IST

Caracas, Jan 15: Venezuela and Bolivia broke diplomatic relations with Israel over Gaza attacks. The EFE reported on Thursday that Venezuela snapped ties with Israel “in the face of the seriousness of the atrocities against the Palestinian people".

Earlier, Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Wednesday in La Paz that his country broke diplomatic ties with Israel over the "disproportionate" attacks of the Israeli Army on the Gaza Strip.

In a communiqué released by the Foreign Ministry, the government of President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday that it would insist "before the international community that the crimes against humanity committed by (Israel's) leaders be denounced before the International Criminal Court".

The move by Caracas came after the announcement earlier Wednesday by the Bolivian government that La Paz was breaking diplomatic ties with Israel as an act of solidarity with Palestinians suffering from Tel Aviv's current offensive in the Gaza strip.

"Bolivia had diplomatic relations with Israel, but in the face of these acts of grave attacks against life, against humanity, Bolivia breaks diplomatic relations with Israel," Morales said during a reception for the diplomatic corps at the presidential palace. He exhorted the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the ongoing attacks in Gaza which have already over 1,000 lives.

The Bolivian President further demanded that Israeli President Shimon Peres be deprived of the Nobel Peace Prize he was granted in 1994.

Launched on December 27, the Israeli campaign in Gaza has left more than 900 Palestinians dead and 4,600 wounded. The UN estimates that half of the dead are women and children.

IANS