Venezuela to upgrade ties with Palestinians 

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is welcomed by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez at Miraflores Palace in Caracas on Friday

Venezuela plans to open an embassy in the Palestinian territories and upgrade its ties to ambassadorial level, President Hugo Chavez said on Friday, to support Palestinians in their struggle against Israel.

"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.

Among aid agreements signed on 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."

"We ... are on the side of the Palestinian people's memorable struggle ... against the genocidal state of Israel that knocks down, kills and aims to terminate the Palestinian people."

Chavez ordered his education minister to circulate maps Abbas gave him to illustrate the small dimensions of the Gaza Strip, where he said 1.5mn people lived in "concentration camp" like conditions, their movements to the outside world virtually blocked by Israel.

"We (Venezuelans) should devote the entire force of our hearts and souls towards the creation of a Palestinian state," he said. "Venezuela is Palestine; Palestine is Venezuela, we have a common struggle."

Abbas thanked Chavez for supporting the creation of a future Palestinian state.

The Palestinian leader also issued a warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who announced 10-month restrictions on building in West Bank settlements on Wednesday.

"Netanyahu stopped the negotiations. We cannot restart them without a commitment from both sides to respect the obligations of the road map," a US-backed 2003 Middle East peace plan that calls for a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, Abbas said.

"The occupation will continue. Netanyahu will not agree to restart talks where they were left off. He had to decide between peace and the occupation, and regrettably he chose occupation," Abbas said in an address to the Venezuelan National Assembly.

Netanyahu's move was praised by the US as a step toward relaunching the peace process, but the Palestinians said it fell far short of their demand for a complete settlement freeze ahead of any new negotiations.

Abbas was in Venezuela on the last leg of a five-nation tour of Latin America. He found a largely receptive audience during his earlier stops in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay.

Chavez has pronounced himself a passionate supporter of the Palestinians and severed diplomatic ties with Israel after the Jewish state's devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this year.

"We welcome your firm stance in favour of the Palestinian cause. It's no wonder because you are heirs to the great fighter Simon Bolivar," Abbas said referring to the father of independence of several Latin American nations including Venezuela.

Chavez sealed Abbas' "historic" visit by conferring Venezuela's top award, called the Order of the Liberator after Bolivar, and gave him a replica of the national hero's sword.

"You are the liberators of Palestine," said Chavez. "In one hand you brandish a sword, in the other an olive branch. You don't want to unsheathe, but you must always keep the sword handy.