In a telephone call with Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc chief Fouad Saniora, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi reiterated more than once that his resignation from the cabinet was driven by his inability to carry on in a government “governed by the will of Hizbullah.”

“I can not tolerate this anymore. Things have reached their edge. Even our relations with Saudi Arabia are threatened now after we defied the Arab consensus,” As Safir daily quoted Rifi as saying.

Gulf Cooperation Council states announced on Saturday their support for Saudi Arabia’s decision to stop its military aid to Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia announced on Friday it is halting deals worth $4 billion aimed at equipping and supporting the Lebanese army and security forces.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri held Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement responsible for the Saudi military aid halt, reiterating that fiery rhetoric targeting Saudi Arabia is totally rejected and does not represent Lebanon's policy.

“Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement are to blame for the suspension in Saudi aid,” said Hariri after a meeting he held with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan at Dar el-Fatwa on Saturday.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geaega stressed on Saturday that the government must demand Hizbullah to stop making fiery statements against Saudi Arabia following the Kingdom's decision that halted aid to the country's army.

“The Lebanese government must convene and draw a formal request for Hizbullah to stop its attacks against Saudi Arabia,” said Geagea in a press conference.

The ministerial committee tasked with following up on the months long trash management file kicked off a meeting at the Grand Serail on Saturday after the export plan failed to rid the country of its piling garbage.

"Discussions are to focus on reviving the plan to establish landfills in several areas in Lebanon," Education Minister Elias Abou Saab said before he joined the interlocutors.

Following the halt of a Saudi program to fund aid to the Lebanese army, Turkey expressed willingness to provide Lebanon with military aid worth $1.1 million, the National News Agency said.

Turkish ambassador to Lebanon Cagatay Erciyes told Defense Minister Samir Moqbel that his country is ready to “continue to support Lebanon and its army,” NNA said.

Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi announced Friday that he has decided to refer the case of ex-minister Michel Samaha to the International Criminal Court, accusing some members of the cabinet of blocking the referral of the proceedings to Lebanon's Judicial Council, one of the country's top courts.

“How can we forgive the deeds of someone who conspired with Syria to plot assassinations against political and religious figures?” said Rifi at a press conference.

A delegation from al-Mustaqbal movement will visit on Thursday the three presidential candidates in a bid to urge them to attend the next parliamentary session slated on March 2 to elect a president, the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday.

Unnamed sources from March 14 alliance said that a Mustaqbal delegation will visit the Change and Reform bloc leader, MP Michel Aoun, Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh and Democratic Gathering bloc MP Henri Helou.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil warned Wednesday against what he called “breaking the will of Christians” in the issue of the presidential election, cautioning that such a step would affect Christian representation in all other state institutions and administrations.

“When there is a flaw in the presidency, it would affect all other state institutions, administrations and posts,” said Bassil after meeting Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki.

The mayor of Haifa in northern Israel said on Wednesday that he is grateful for threats made by Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to attack the city's ammonia facility.

In 2006, Israel fought a war with Hizbullah in Lebanon, but when Nasrallah said Tuesday that "several of our rockets combined with the ammonia storage facility in Haifa will create the effect of a nuclear weapon," the local mayor seized the opportunity to highlight his city's environmental problems.