Chavez lashes out at Zionist state as murder arm of United States

Source: AFP, 12-01-2009

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Hugo 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 in 10 days. On announcing a Venezuelan humanitarian aid shipment for Gaza's embattled Palestinians, Chavez said he was not surprised "Israel" ignored the UN's call Thursday for a cease-fire in Gaza because, he said, "behind ‘Israel' lurks the United States.

"It doesn't surprise me in the least ... The ‘Israeli' government doesn't comply because it is the United States. Unfortunately, ‘Israel' has become the murder arm of the US," he added.
Chavez, Latin America's most prominent leftist leader and staunch foe of outgoing US President George W. Bush, said the solution to the Gaza conflict was squarely in the hands of Bush's successor Obama, who is to be inaugurated on January 20.

"Let's wait and see what Obama will do when he takes power as president ... and head of the empire," Chavez said. "Because if anybody can stop that massacre it's the US president, because it was a US president who ordered it."
He also slammed the international community for not doing enough to stop the "Israeli" onslaught in Gaza, which since December 27 has killed more than 850 people, according to Gaza emergency services.

"They're killing the Palestinian people in Gaza and the world sits there, arms crossed, drawing up [UN] resolutions. We should move on to more concrete actions. We went as far as we could and threw out the [‘Israeli'] ambassador," Chavez said.
Venezuela on Tuesday expelled "Israel's" ambassador to Caracas as calls mounted in Latin America for an end to the Zionist state's deadly assault on Gaza. The following day, "Israel" reciprocated by expelling Venezuela's charge d'affaires.

Meanwhile in La Paz, Bolivian President Evo Morales said the UN was under Washington's thumb and he regretted that the world body was unable to stop the bloodshed in Gaza.
"What I'm sorry about is that the UN is not for the people of the world," he said Saturday. "It's a UN for the US empire, and we don't want that."