Speaker Nabih Berri received on Thursday a message from the Lebanese Petroleum Association that Lebanon's offshore oil wealth is under threat from Israel, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Friday.

It said: “Lebanon's wealth is under real threat from Israel due to its excessive actions in stealing its oil.”

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday issued a press statement urging all Lebanese parties to “cease any involvement in the Syrian crisis” and calling on Lebanese politicians to “urgently” elect a new president.

“The members of the Security Council were briefed on 18 November 2015 by the Special Coordinator for Lebanon of the Secretary-General, Sigrid Kaag, on the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 (2006),” said the statement, which was issued Thursday by Council President Matthew Rycroft.

The army on Thursday stopped a car carrying a small amount of explosives at the entrance of a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern town of al-Bourj al-Shamali, east of Tyre.

“An army unit intercepted a Renault Centro car carrying a fake license plate at the entrance of the al-Bourj al-Shamali camp,” the Army Command said in a statement.

Kuwaiti security authorities have busted an international cell led by a Lebanese man that was sending air defense systems and funds to the Islamic State group, Kuwait's interior ministry said Thursday.

The cell's Lebanese chief, identified as Osama Mohammed Khayat, confessed that he raised funds and provided logistical support for the group, which has carried out deadly attacks in Lebanon and France in the past week, the ministry said.

Change and Reform bloc secretary MP Ibrahim Kanaan announced Thursday that the Free Patriotic Movement will coordinate with the Lebanese Forces on the issue of the new electoral law.

Kanaan voiced his remarks after a meeting in Maarab with LF leader Samir Geagea in the presence of LF media officer Melhem Riachi. The lawmaker was delegated by Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun, according to OTV.

A suicide vest, bomb-making material and a tactical vest were found Thursday during garbage sorting in the southern city of Sidon, media reports said.

“Workers found a suicide vest containing explosives, a timer and a tactical vest as they were sorting garbage at the Sayniq waste management plant in south Sidon,” state-run National News Agency reported.

Two jihadist militants were killed and five others were wounded Thursday in a “Hizbullah ambush” in the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, media reports said.

“A group of militants fell into an ambush set up by the mujahideen of the resistance in the Wadi al-Kheil area in Arsal's outskirts,” Hizbullah's al-Manar television said.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Commander Maj. Gen. Luciano Portolano hailed on Thursday the cooperation between the peace keeping forces and the Lebanese army, stressing that the security situation in the south is stable.

“I have hailed the close cooperation between the UNIFIL forces, the Lebanese army and its intelligence forces which would very much help us in solving the problems that could endanger security and calm in the South,” said Portolano after a meeting with Defense Minister Samir Moqbel.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam said on Thursday that the time has come to restore political activity in Lebanon, urging the political forces to agree on facilitating the cabinet's work in wait for the “big political settlement that begins with electing a president.”

“It is about time to end the current chaos and to restore the political activity by activating the work of the constitutional institutions,” said Salam at the opening of the Annual Arab Banking Conference.

The Kataeb Party has taken the decision to abstain from signing laws and projects at cabinet in protest against the ongoing presidential vacuum, reported the daily An Nahar on Thursday.

The party deemed last week's legislative session as illegal due to the ongoing vacancy in the presidency, which therefore renders as “unconstitutional” addressing the decrees and laws that were tackled at the session.