WASHINGTON (JTA) - The State Department said it was aware of reports that Mahmoud Abbas congratulated Lebanese murderer Samir Kuntar on his release. Kuntar, whose victims in a 1979 terrorist raid into Nahariya included a 4- year-old girl, was released last week as part of an Israeli-Hezbollah prisoner exchange. "We are aware of the reports" that the Palestinian Authority president congratulated Kuntar and his family, a State Department statement said. "The United States condemns the abhorrent crimes of Samir Kuntar, including the murder of an Israeli policeman as well as the killing of Danny Haran and his 4- year-old daughter in a raid on April 22, 1979 in Nahariya, Israel."