Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Lebanon, Waleed Bukhari said on Monday that the 1989 assassination of Grand Mufti Sheikh Hassan Khaled was a prelude to the assassination of all of Lebanon, while describing the results of the recent parliamentary elections as "honorable".
The ambassador was speaking at the fifth Saudi-Lebanese Cultural Forum, held at his residence in Beirut on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the assassination of the grand mufti.
He said Sheikh Khaled was a symbol of "religion, national unity, partnership, sovereignty and independence."
Bukhari added that Lebanon was going through difficult times, particularly when it comes to its Arab identity.
"The honorable elections have, however, led to the fall of all symbols of deceit, betrayal and the industry of death and hatred," he remarked.
Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies lost their majority in the elections.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian said Sheikh Khaled "was martyred for the cause of keeping Lebanon free, sovereign, independent, and Arab."
Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi praised Lebanon’s relations with Saudi Arabia, stressing there was no estrangement between Beirut and "the Kingdom of goodness."
Sheikh Khaled was assassinated in a car bomb in Beirut during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war. No one has been arrested in his killing.
