Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn condemned on Monday the sides that criticized his recent statements that al-Qaida members had infiltrated the Bekaa town of Arsal, accusing them of attempting to question the loyalties of the Arsal residents.

He said in a statement: “My declarations last week were not a product of speculation, but they were based on information we received, which we thought was prudent to reveal to the public.”

Internal security forces at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut arrested a 24-year-old Egyptian national after seizing two kilograms of narcotic pills from his bag, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

NNA said that the ISF found the pills after searching the traveler’s bag, who was identified as A.M.

Lebanese government officials should exert more efforts to distance Lebanon from the twin Damascus bombings that took place in the Syrian capital on Friday, otherwise the cabinet would appear to be adopting a lax approach in combating terrorism, reported the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper on Monday.

Widely informed sources told the newspaper that President Michel Suleiman’s statements on Lebanon’s rejection of terrorism was the first attempt to ease the government “embarrassment” in this issue.

Head of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) Burhan Ghalioun denied on Monday that the collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime will not lead to the deterioration of relations with Iran and Hizbullah.

“The relations with Iran and Hizbullah after the toppling of Assad will be normal and not strategic as they are right now,” Ghalioun told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is reportedly upset with the government’s decision to approve Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ proposals on the wage hike, sources close to the premier told the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper in remarks published on Monday.

They said that cabinet decision, which was led by the alliance between Hizbullah, AMAL, and the Free Patriotic Movement ministers, sought to send a message that this alliance is the true controller of the government and not Miqati.

Syrian helicopters on Sunday hovered over the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal before returning to the Syrian airspace, Future News TV reported.

For its part, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Syrian military aircraft flew over Syria’s border with Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. It did not elaborate.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi hoped on Sunday that the state would bolster trust in the armed forces.

He said during the Christmas mass that was held at Bkirki: “The state should assign all security and defense duties to the political authorities.”

President Michel Suleiman stated on Sunday that a parliamentary electoral law should cater to all insecurities in Lebanon and provide equality between its people.

He said after holding talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi at Bkirki: “The Maronite meeting laid the basis for discussions on the electoral law that unite all sects and respect the Taif Accord.”

Sources from the Mustaqbal Movement warned against undermining the Syrian accusations against Lebanon that al-Qaida members arriving in Syria from Lebanon were behind the twin Damascus explosions on Friday, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.

They warned that these allegations may be a precursor for Lebanese and Syrian powers to create unrest in the Bekaa town of Arsal and other Lebanese towns that are harboring Syrian refugees.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel confirmed that Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn had informed cabinet that al-Qaida members had infiltrated the Bekaa town of Arsal.

He told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat however that the minister only spoke of information he obtained and not of reports that al-Qaida members had been arrested, especially since the border region are controlled by the Lebanese army.