Steven Emerson, Executive Director December 24, 2015 Articles by IPT |  IPT in the News |  IPT Blog |  Profiles |  Multimedia |  Donate |  Contact Us Picture Tells Arab Journalist the Story on Israeli Prisoner Treatment by IPT News  •  Dec 24, 2015 at 1:24 pm http://www.investigativeproject.org/5106/picture-tells-arab-journalist-the-story-on Print Send Comment RSS Share: Be the first of your friends to like this. This week's air strike in Syria which killed a notorious Hizballah terrorist generated the usual cries of "death to Israel" and promises of retribution. Samir Kuntar was one of the most hated terrorists in Israeli history, a man who killed a 4-year-old girl by smashing her head with a rifle butt. He served nearly 30 years in an Israeli prison before being released in a 2008 exchange in which Israel received the remains of two slain soldiers. Kuntar received a hero's welcome in Lebanon. A Syrian journalist took a different tact this week in remembering Kuntar's release. Faisal al-Qassem was struck by Kuntar's robust condition in pictures from the release, and placed one next to a picture of a Syrian prisoner. "Samir Kuntar left an Israeli prison with a beer belly and a doctorate," al-Qassem wrote in a Facebook post flagged Wednesday by the Times of Israel. "At the other extreme, this is how Syrians leave [dictator Bashar] Assad's prisons." He has a point. Kuntar doesn't look like a man who missed many meals in Israeli custody, while the emaciated Syrian invokes memories of those who survived Nazi concentration camps. Many of Qassem's 8.7 million followers seemed to agree, with more than 100,000 hitting "like." "We are taught that Israeli prisons are the worst in the world but in fact we know that the Israelis are more merciful than all of the Arabs," wrote one Facebook user in Arabic. "Some say that the Zionists are our biggest enemy, dogs and murderers. But Muslims kill more Muslims that the Zionists," read another. A lot of Arabic-language media dispense rabidly anti-Israel views and promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. It is refreshing to see Qassem's recognition of reality and the strong support it generated. Related Topics: IPT News, Samir Kuntar, Hizballah, Faisal al-Qassem The IPT accepts no funding from outside the United States, or from any governmental agency or political or religious institutions. Your support of The Investigative Project on Terrorism is critical in winning a battle we cannot afford to lose. All donations are tax-deductible. Click here to donate online. The Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation is a recognized 501(c)3 organization.   To subscribe: http://www.investigativeproject.org/list_subscribe.php The Investigative Project on Terrorism 202-363-8602 - main 202-966-5191 - fax