CBNNews.com - CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela announced Tuesday that it is expelling the Israeli ambassador to protest Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip.

Ambassador Shlomo Cohen and several of his staff members were ordered to leave Venezuela immediately. 

The Foreign Ministry said the decision is in response to the fighting in Gaza, which President Hugo Chavez labeled "genocide."

Chavez called the Jewish state a pawn of the United States and advised Israelis to oppose its government's policies.

In Jerusalem, the Foreign Ministry said each country must decide whether to fight or support terrorism, and Israel will protect its citizens from enemies such as Hamas and Iran.

Chavez, a critic of the Bush administration, has expressed his strong support for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Source: The Jerusalem Post