Israel Matzav: Venezuela to send ambassador to 'Palestine'

Venezuela to send ambassador to 'Palestine'

Venezuela plans to send an ambassador to 'Palestine' and has signed several agreements to 'aid' the 'Palestinians.'

"We have decided to designate an ambassador and open an embassy in Palestine," Chavez said after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"We now have a charge d'affaires; we will name an ambassador in coming days as part of accords to boost our bilateral relations," he said.

This should be interesting. Israel has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela since the Venezuelans cut them off during Operation Cast Lead. I wonder whether Israel will let the 'ambassador' pass through the diplomatic line at Ben Gurion Airport or the Allenby Bridge, both of which Israel controls. Hmmm.

Among aid agreements signed Friday were scholarships for 20 Palestinians to study medicine in Venezuela. Chavez said he saw Venezuela offering many more educational grants.

"We must tell the Palestine people how many scholarships we will give to Palestinian youth so they come and study what they need," he said. "They can be short and long, pre-graduate or post-graduate, technical and training studies."

Maybe the Venezuelans can offer to let the 'Palestinians' stay there.

Chavez also referred to Colombia as 'the Israel of South America.' Read the whole thing.

Israel Matzav: Venezuela to send ambassador to 'Palestine'