Demonstrators gathered in front of the Egyptian embassy in Caracas on Wednesday, calling on Arab countries to stand closer to the Palestinian people, showing their solidarity with the government's decision to expel the Israeli ambassador from the country (which has led to a surge in Venezuela's popularity) and criticizing Israel's military attack on the Gaza Strip. On the same day, a Kuwaiti MP belonging to the Islamist trend called for moving the Arab League headquarters from Cairo to the Venezuelan capital in protest at Egypt's refusal to open its Rafah crossing at the borders with the Gaza Strip. "Hugo Chavez has become more Arab than some Arabs" he said. A leading figure of the Egyptian Tagammu party, Hussein Abdel Razik, said those who were supposed to leave no stone unturned to put pressure on Israel had not done so, while two countries thousands of miles away from the region and not involved in the Palestinian Cause (Venezuela and Bolivia) had taken a clear position. Abdel Razik explained that these Latin American countries are ruled by left-wing nationalist systems which believe in nationalist liberation movements worldwide. He also pointed out that in the 1950s and 1960s Egypt used to back all such kinds of movements in practical terms and not only through statements. "These Latin American rulers feel they have to put pressure on the aggressor, while those involved in the Cause are just resting on their laurels" he affirmed.
