A senior leader from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Holy War) said on Monday that a ceasefire in Lebanon was "a victory" for Hezbollah, Arabs and Muslims.

Khaled al-Batsh said that the ceasefire was "a defeat for the army which claims it can't be overcome", referring to the Israeli army.

He called on the Muslim nation to be united for rebuilding "what was devastated in Palestine and Lebanon by the arsenal of the Zionist enemy".

"The image now has been inversed, Israel now is different than it was before the 2006 aggression against Lebanon, its fabulous image has weakened and its reputation has declined to the lowest levels," said al-Batsh.

He urged Arab leaders "to reread the Zionist entity", saying that "a few thousands of fighters in Lebanon and Palestine were able to throw sand in the face of the Israeli army and its generals."

A UN-brokered Israel-Lebanon cease-fire took into force at 8:00a.m. (0500 GMT) on Monday morning after Lebanon and Israel approved in tandem the resolution.

It calls for Israel's withdrawal and authorizes an increase of the existing UN force in Lebanon to 15,000 troops to help Lebanese government troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.