Bolivia on Wednesday renounced a visa exemption agreement with Israel in protest over its assault on Gaza, and declared it a terrorist state.<\/p>\n
President Evo Morales announced the move during a talk with a group of educators in the city of Cochabamba.<\/p>\n
It “means, in other words, we are declaring (Israel) a terrorist state,” he said.<\/p>\n
The treaty has allowed Israelis to travel freely to Bolivia without a visa since 1972.<\/p>\n
Morales said the Gaza offensive shows “that Israel is not a guarantor of the principles of respect for life and the elementary precepts of rights that govern the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of our international community.”<\/p>\n
More than three weeks of Israeli air, ground and naval attacks on Gaza have left over 1,300 Palestinians dead and 7,000 wounded.<\/p>\n
In the latest massacre, at least 16 people were killed after two Israeli shells slammed into a United Nations school while refugees were sleeping, killing men, women and children and drawing international protests.<\/p>\n
Bolivia broke off diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009 over a previous military assault on Gaza.<\/p>\n
In mid-July, Morales filed a request with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to prosecute Israel for crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n