Arab media mocks Hizbullah 'victory'

[notfullofit]

By JPOST.COM STAFF

While Hizbullah on Wednesday went to great lengths in its attempts to paint the prisoner swap with Israel as a victory, emphasizing the fact that the group's leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah had kept to his word and managed to release murderer Samir Kuntar, a leading Arab paper ridiculed the perceived "victory."

"The Radwan deal," the headline of the London-based A-Sharq Alawsat newspaper on Thursday cynically ran, "cost Hizbullah over $7 billion, more than 1,200 dead and 4,500 wounded Lebanese citizens."
snip

The Saudi paper Al Watan pointed out that Hizbullah has yet to disarm and that UN Resolution 1701, which ended the war, has not been implemented.

In Lebanon, Al Anwar carried an editorial piece which said it was "shameful to see members of the government in Beirut join the celebrations of Hizbullah."
snip

Nasrallah surprised the crowd by joining Kuntar on stage, an unusual live appearance from a man who, since the end of the Second Lebanon War, has interacted with the outside world almost exclusively through video.

Nasrallah appeared to be visibly afraid, looking over his shoulder at least twice during a brief appearance of less than two minutes, despite being surrounded by five bodyguards. He exited the stage quickly after congratulating Kuntar on his release.


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[Vegasaurus]

1. Nasrallah ought to watch his back

Terrorists who thrive on killing others and celebrating the deaths of others will get their come-uppance once day.

[azurnoir]

2. Don't know about Nasrallah

but I wouldn't give much for Kuntar's longevity.

[Vegasaurus]

4. As I said, Karma's a bitch

and his time will come.

Hopefully sooner rather than later.

[notfullofit]

3. Lebanese press has a field day

snip...

"Arab and Lebanese joy at the return of the prisoners and the bones of the shahids (martyrs)," read the title of the article by al-Quds al-Arabi, a London-based paper. Al-Manar celebrated the "national wedding", the name given to the festive affair in Lebanon, and interrupted broadcasts in order to bring live coverage of the funerals of the kidnapped soldiers in Israel.

Meanwhile, Arab newspapers worldwide were less enthusiastic. The London-based al-Hayat commended the deal with a caricature, but reported only the dry facts of the case. Also in London, al-Sharq al-Awsat refrained from giving the deal a top story, giving it only a secondary headline.

The paper chose to emphasize the new tension expected to rise between Israel and Hizbullah, due to reports by which the organization plans to settle Islamic Jihad and Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashaal, in Beirut following the establishment of anti-aircraft and surface-to-surface missiles on a strategic mountain range in southern Lebanon, facing Israel.

In Egypt, which published criticisms against Hizbullah during the war, reports were not celebratory. The government's newspaper al-Ahram included only a minor report taken from the news agencies, in which it said that "Israel and Hizbullah have exchanged bones of the dead and five prisoners between them." The report can be seen to express the country's aversion to the organization.

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