Olmert pushed satellite deal with Venezuela

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert secretly promoted the sale of satellite services to Venezuela in defiance of the U.S., a newspaper here reported. The Israeli daily Maariv said Olmert sought to facilitate the sale of satellite services to the government of President Hugo Chavez by the Israeli firm ImageSat. Olmert, the newspaper said, was blocked by the Israeli Defense Ministry, which did not want to spark a crisis with the Bush administration. The United States has opposed Israeli military or satellite services to Venezuela. Chavez has been regarded as a key ally of Iran.