News / Lebanon

Al Saud after eliminating Palestinian cause: Hezbollah official

Wednesday, 04 January 2017 5:37 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 05 January 2017 2:02 AM ]

Sheikh Naim Qassim, the deputy secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, speaks at a ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of the Riyadh regime’s execution of prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, in Beirut on January 4, 2017. (Photo by al-Ahed News)

The deputy secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement says Saudi Arabia is seeking to eliminate the Palestinian cause through normalizing ties with Israel.

Sheikh Naim Qassim made the comments at a ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of the Riyadh regime’s execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Wednesday.

Qassim described Sheikh Nimr as a supporter of Palestine, resistance and Islamic values, saying he was killed due to his opposition to oppression.

The Saudi clergyman had accused Riyadh of being the major cause of the crisis in the region, and at the same time not tolerating others’ views and maintaining a tyranny at home and interfering in the domestic affairs of regional states, Qassim added.

Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr on January 2, 2016 in defiance of international calls to release him. The highly respected cleric was charged with undermining the kingdom’s security, making anti-government speeches, and defending political prisoners. Nimr had denied the accusations.

A Bahraini protester holds up a picture of Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr toward a police officer in Daih, Bahrain, on January 4, 2016. (Photo by AP)

The Saudi kingdom suppresses liberal movements and violates human rights and freedom of expression, the Hezbollah official noted, stressing that the Al Saud dynasty is involved in a crackdown on Bahraini anti-regime protesters.

He further accused the kingdom having the process of electing a new president in Lebanon postponed and causing chaos there.

Lebanese lawmakers approved the new cabinet last December, less than two months after the parliament elected Michel Aoun, a strong Hezbollah ally, as president. Aoun’s election ended a 29-month-long political stalemate in the country.

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