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Prisoner swap boosts Nasrallah's image in Arab worldMK: 'Nasrallah will not die a natural death'By ICEJ News In the poll released by the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Nasrallah was voted tops by twenty-six percent of the 4,000 survey participants from six Arab countries, while fellow anti-West leaders Bashar Assad of Syria (16%) and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (10%) rounded out the top three. Nasrallah, head of the Lebanese Shi’ite terror militia, was also favored in mostly Sunni countries, including Morocco, Jordan and Egypt. The poll was taken in the lead-up to the prisoner exchange with Israel, a move that some Israelis opposed because handing over terrrorists to Nasrallah would only boost his popularity on the Arab street. Professor Rafi Israeli of Hebrew University in Jerusalem was not surprised by the results. “It turns out that the most murderous and barbaric leaders are also the champions of the Arab world," he told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. "In our dealings with the Shi'ite world, including Iran, both the West and Israel have been acting in a state of dhimmitude," he said. "Muslims, and especially Shi'ites, take this as a sign of weakness and submissiveness." Nasrallah's gloating over the "victory" represented by the lopsided prisoner swap riled many Knesset members as they watched television reports yesterday. "This deal could have been made two years ago without a war that resulted in the deaths of almost 160 Israelis," said MK Silvan Shalom (Likud). "The release of [terrorist Samir] Kuntar is a mistake that springs from the government's weakness and will make the chances for releasing [kidnapped IDF soldier] Gilad Schalit much more difficult, as Hamas will now demand an even higher price." MK Yisrael Hasson (Israel Beiteinu), a former top Shin Bet security officer, told Jerusalem Radio: “When a Hizbullah representative refuses to say whether they're alive or dead a second before they take out the coffins, this is cruel entertainment. They will pay the price... I have no doubt that Nasrallah will not die a natural death. The State of Israel will settle its accounts with him. He knows that better than we do," said Hasson. Reports out of Lebanon today indicated Israel was signaling Hizbullah not to launch new terror adventures now that the swap was completed. IAF jet fighters roared across the skies over south Lebanon today, while Lebanese citizens complained of receiving threatening automated phone messages that only identified the caller as "the State of Israel." IDF spokespersons refused comment on either incidents. |
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