Israeli Condemnation - on Youtube

Israel is flaunting its "moral victory" in this week's uneven prisoners-for-bodies swap with an Arabic-language clip on YouTube that condemns Hizbullah as a terrorist organization that sees a "child murderer" as a hero.

Ofer Gendelman, an Arabic-speaking spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry, scorned scenes in Beirut that saw the freed Samir Qantar embraced not only by Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbullah leader, but also by the Lebanese president, prime minister and other dignitaries .

"This is a child-killer whom Hizbullah welcomes with praise, cheers and parades," Gendelman said. "This is a savage murderer whom you extremists see as a hero. "

Using YouTube is new for the Israeli government, which released Qantar and four other Lebanese prisoners, and 200 bodies, to secure the release of two soldiers captured in 2006, though it knew they were almost certainly dead.

Hizbullah did not produce any significant new information about Ron Arad, an air force navigator who was shot down over Lebanon in 1986.

Israel was also accused of hacking into Lebanon's phone network to issue threats. Hizbullah's television station, al-Manar, reported that Israel had sent hundreds of voice messages to phones in Lebanon, threatening retaliation for any new attack.

Lebanon's telecommunications minister, Jubran Basil, ordered his staff to take all necessary steps to stop such a "flagrant violation" of his country's sovereignty. Voice and SMS messages were used as part of Israeli psychological warfare operations during the 2006 fighting.