A Syrian national was arrested on Thursday for attempting to smuggle drugs outside of Lebanon, announced the Internal Security Forces on Friday.

It said that the suspect was arrested at Rafik Hariri International Airport as he was seeking to travel to a Gulf state.

The parliament's extended 17-month term entered into force on Friday as the Constitutional Council failed to meet for the fourth and last time to issue a ruling on petitions filed against the extension.

The council's head, Judge Issam Suleiman, drafted a report to detail the reasons and the circumstances behind the failure to convene the 10-member body.

President Michel Suleiman considered that Syrian authorities were the first to spark the dispute on the complaints against Lebanon, considering that the memos sent to the United Nations and the Arab League on Syrian violations as constitutional.

“The constitution states that the president is in charge of maintaining the safety of citizens and Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” visitors quoted Suleiman as saying.

The army, the presidential guards and security forces were on Friday conducting a search operation in the town of Araya in Baabda district where a strong blast was heard overnight, informed sources told Naharnet, as two rocket launch pads were found in Kesrouan district.

The mysterious blast that reverberated across several districts at around 12:43 am could have been caused by a rocket launch, the sources said.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is due to arrive in Beirut in July to discuss the bilateral ties with senior Lebanese officials, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the newspaper, Abbas will focus on the conditions of Palestinian refugees, who fled the turmoil in Syria to neighboring Lebanon.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called on the state prosecutor to take measures against the parties criticizing President Michel Suleiman for sending memos to the U.N. and the Arab League on Syrian violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

Geagea told An Nahar daily published Friday that the critics “are trying to target the last legitimate institution that is trying to assume its responsibilities after they succeeded in paralyzing the parliament and the Constitutional Council and the obstruction of the cabinet formation.”

The army said in a communique on Friday that it will not tolerate outlaws and will confront them with all the available means.

“The army command called for self-restraint and not to b driven by rumors,” the statement said.

One person was killed and five others were wounded on Thursday as protesters blocked several roads in the Bekaa, the North and Beirut to express “solidarity” with the town of Arsal.

One person was killed and another was wounded as residents of the town of Majdal Anjar staged a sit-in near the al-Masnaa border crossing in support of Arsal's residents, state-run National News Agency reported, without mentioning the reason behind the injuries.

Hundreds of citizens and civil society activists demonstrated Thursday afternoon in rejection of the extension of parliament's term, as security forces prevented them several times from crossing the barriers into Nejmeh Square which houses parliament's building.

Protesters carried banners highlighting the living conditions that the lawmakers have failed to address, such as the new rent law, and slogans against the extension of parliament's mandate, which will go into effect at midnight.

At least 18 Lebanese citizens have been expelled from Qatar, a government source in Beirut told Agence France Presse Thursday, after the Gulf Cooperation Council pledged to act against members of Hizbullah.

"Eighteen Lebanese have been expelled from Qatar, in the wake of the GCC decision," the source said on condition of anonymity, saying it was not clear if they were Hizbullah members.