Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Wednesday stressed that “land is as important as dignity and sovereignty,” warning that “persistence in the seizure of others’ property” might lead to “civil strife.”

Maronite “Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has made a lauded initiative and we support him in his bid to solve the dispute over land owned by the church,” Gemayel said during a visit to the Jbeil District town of al-Ghabat, which borders the predominantly Shiite town of Lassa – the scene of recent controversy over property rights between locals and the Maronite Patriarchate.

An Israeli package from the Israeli Embassy in Larnaca accidentally arrived in Beirut on Wednesday onboard a Cypriot plane.

Airport security confiscated the package and is currently conducting investigations over how it arrived in Lebanon.

The Italian Senate agreed on Wednesday to withdraw 700 soldiers from the United Nations Interim force in Lebanon, reported AKI Italian news agency.

This decision was part of an agreement to lower the number of Italian troops from international peacemaking missions from 9,250 to 2,028 in 2012.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon spokesman Neeraj Singh noted on Wednesday that the attack against French UNIFIL troops near Sidon on Tuesday is the second such attack in two months.

He said that the safety of UNIFIL troops is of the utmost importance as it regularly performs comprehensive training over its security.

Speaker Nabih Berri renewed on Wednesday the importance of dialogue in Lebanon, especially under the current circumstances in the region.

He said before MPs during his weekly meeting at parliament: “Lebanon is not isolated from the rest of the region and we should not hesitate in implementing any step that would help fortify it.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned on Wednesday the attacks against the French unit in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon that took place near Sidon on Tuesday, thanking the French government for all its support for Lebanon.

He noted: “The security situation can never turn to normal as long as there are hundreds of thousands of unofficial security apparatuses.”

President Michel Suleiman cabled his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday stressing Lebanon’s keenness on the safety of UNIFIL troops following the roadside bombing that targeted a French patrol near the southern port city of Sidon.

In his cable, Suleiman “condemned the attack on the French unit and reiterated Lebanon’s keenness on the safety of UNIFIL members.”

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday Hizbullah’s “provocation” of comparing four suspects in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri to saints.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “These stands demonstrate the party’s nervousness ahead of the unveiling of the truth.”

A debate has emerged among the Lebanese forces allied to Syria over Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat’s recent positions, with some sides voicing their disappointment with them, revealed a March 8 source to al-Jumhuriya newspaper on Wednesday.

“We are monitoring his stances” in apprehension of any shift in his alliance, it added.

Britain's foreign minister for the Middle East and Africa has expressed concern over the roadside bombing that targeted a UNIFIL convoy near the southern port city of Sidon on Tuesday.

"I am deeply concerned by reports of another attack against a UNIFIL patrol in South Lebanon. My sympathy is with the injured and their families,” said Alistair Burt in a statement.