The "Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Imad Mughniyeh" claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack that killed five family members in Itamar, a settlement home to around 800 Israeli Jews, Pan Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Sunday.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades officials denied that the attack came from within their ranks.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has reiterated that the Hizbullah-led alliance did not put preconditions when it nominated him and stressed he wants “to rescue the nation.”

He said he did not seek the position. His love for Lebanon forced his hand. "When I saw what was happening in the country, the deadlock, I said it's time to stand. The real motivation is to rescue the nation."

Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has accused the March 14 forces of luring Hizbullah to use its arms against the coalition and its supporters.

“We hope this doesn’t take place. But if so, then they would have deserved it,” Aoun said during a dinner held by the FPM.

The cabinet would be announced within days, Najib Miqati’s circles said, stressing that the premier-designate received support from the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The 30-member cabinet line-up would include politicians, technocrats and independents, the circles told An Nahar daily in remarks published Sunday.

The Maronite bishops have ended their retreat ahead of the election of a new patriarch, reported the daily An Nahar Saturday.

The retreat began Thursday morning and ended Friday night with the election scheduled to take place Saturday morning over a four-round process.

French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton stated on Saturday that he is certain that the Lebanese government will be formed soon, revealing that France and the international community will compare the ministerial statement of Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s government to that of caretaker Premier Saad Hariri’s Cabinet.

The French official stressed the need for the new government to cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, noting that Hizbullah is in fact cooperating with the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri despite its calls for the Lebanese not to cooperate with it.

A European source revealed that European nations have received an explanation from France on the current governmental situation in Lebanon where they were informed of how caretaker Prime Minister was replaced by Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati, revealed the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat Sunday.

The manner in which Hariri was replaced has created an imbalance in power in Lebanon that had been established by the Taif Accord and the Doha agreement, “which set the rules of the political game in Lebanon for a while.”

The release of the indictment in the investigation in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is expected to be delayed after Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare filed an "amended indictment" on Friday for confirmation by STL Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen.

Sources monitoring the situation told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published on Saturday that this development will delay the announcement of the indictment, while international sources predicted that it may be released in May or June of this year.

The government formation process will witness intensified efforts next week aimed at addressing the demands of the concerned sides, according to informed sources.

Newspaper reports said that the dispute over the interior ministry portfolio has been settled in former minister Naji al-Boustani’s favor, who received congratulations on this matter from Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun during their meeting on Thursday.

The March 14 forces have been preoccupied with the preparations for Sunday’s rally commemorating six years of the movement’s formation.

The event will include three podiums, one for political speeches, another for figures from civil society, and a third for various singers and performers.