President Michel Suleiman said on Wednesday that the collapse of the cabinet will have negative repercussions on Lebanon as Speaker Nabih Berri expected that the majority will reach a safe haven concerning the crisis.

Sources close to Suleiman told As Safir newspaper that the president agreed with officials he met on Tuesday that “no one has an interest in forcing the collapse of the current cabinet.”

Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas did not confirm Wednesday whether Change and Reform bloc ministers would attend a cabinet session set to discuss the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

“There is a possibility that the bloc’s ministers would attend the cabinet sessions,” Nahhas told Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3).

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat considered on Wednesday that the priority at this “critical stage” is to seek consensus between the cabinet members to safeguard the stability of Lebanon amid the turmoil in the region.

“The current cabinet is essential to ensure stability because any other alternative would merely lead to a (political) vacuum,” Jumblat said in remarks published in As Safir newspaper.

The United States on Tuesday called on all sides to exercise restraint after rockets fired from Lebanon slammed into Israel and Israeli forces retaliated.

"We call on all parties to exercise restraint," State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh, amid fears of a possible collapse of Premier Najib Miqati’s government.

Jumblat told Al-Manar television that “the government’s survival is essential,” stressing that “no one has an interest in possible political vacuum in the country.”

Robert Watkins, the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim, on Tuesday described the overnight rocket attack on Israel and the retaliation that ensued against Lebanese territory as a “very unfortunate incident.”

Watkins’ remarks were voiced during a meeting with Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel, during which they discussed “the implementation of (U.N.) Security Council Resolution 1701 and the latest report on that resolution, which the Security Council is set to discuss at a meeting in New York” later on Tuesday.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun criticized on Tuesday the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, deeming it a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

He noted after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “There were no binding reasons that required the formation of the STL under chapter seven of the U.N. Charter.”

Seven Lebanese men on Tuesday denounced Syria's authorities for what they said was false usage of footage filmed in 2008 to prove "terrorist" involvement in unrest rocking Syria.

The seven men at a press conference in Tripoli's impoverished Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood showed what they said was the original video they had shot and posted on Facebook, and identified themselves one by one.

Flag carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) was grounded in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday as pilots staged a 48-hour strike over the dismissal of a colleague undergoing treatment for cancer.

"We have grounded 10 out of 15 flights today," said Captain Fadi Khalil, head of the pilots' union.

Hizbullah Minister Mohammed Fneish said the Shiite party will attend a cabinet session set to discuss the funding of the international tribunal on Wednesday but stressed that it continues to reject the payment of Lebanon’s share to the court.

Following talks with Premier Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail, Fneish said: “Miqati continues to hold onto his stance … so do we.”