Hamas leader Ismail Haniya on Wednesday hailed the exchange of prisoners between Israel and Hezbollah as "a victory" for the militant Lebanese Shiite movement and armed resistance against Israel, reported dpa.
Haniya also hailed freed Lebanese prisoner Samir Kuntar "a great hero" and said Israel's decision to release him and four Hezbollah fighters had undermined Israel's policy of not freeing "prisoners with blood on their hands."
"The Israelis should pay the price for the release of Gilad Shalit," Haniya said in a statement in central Gaza.
"It is hard to see thousands of prisoners still held in Israeli jails."
Shalit, an Israeli soldier, was captured in a Hamas-led cross- border raid on an Israeli military outpost bordering the Gaza Strip more than two years ago. Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian militants from Israeli prisons in exchange for Shalit. dpa sar bve sc