Some Beirut residents see Nasrallah's speech as entirely political. Tony, a student at the American University of Beirut, who watched the speech with others at an open-air café commented, "the speech makes it sound as if this was pre-planned, like it's just a continuation of what Hizbullah wanted the whole time. But it's not. Why did he do it now?

"For political reasons, he is politicizing something that should unite all of Lebanon."

Ghassan, a shop owner in Beirut's Hamra district and a supporter of Sunni political leader Sa'ad A-Din Al-Hariri, contests Hizbullah's victorious claims arguing, "this is not just about the prisoners. Hizbullah got the prisoners, but it is not about the numbers in the exchange. Thousands of people in Lebanon died in the 2006 war. It was destruction. The economy was ruined. For what? You cannot start a war for just this."

Dana M., an employee at a Beirut public relations firm, observed, "I am so angry with the Sunni political leadership, who are bending over backwards to praise Hizbullah's prisoner release. I supported [Prime Minister] Siniora and [Future Movement leader] Al-Hariri through all the conflicts, even after they did nothing to protect their supporters in Beirut [during Hizbullah's May 2008 invasion], but now I'm angry.

"Hizbullah started a war to free a notoriously evil man who is in Israeli prison for smashing a little girl's head with a rock. This man definitely does not deserve a hero's welcome."

Hizbullah tarnished its image when it, along with other Lebanese opposition parties, attacked Beirut and the Chouf mountains in May 2008. The party claimed it would never use its weapons against other Lebanese and would only use them to protect Lebanon against Israel, but then struck at the heart of the nation.

Hizbullah's prisoner exchange is seen as an effort by the party to return to the media spotlight as a victor against Israel, not as an abuser of its countrymen...