The national dialogue resumed its sessions on Monday “amid positive talks” with gatherers agreeing on committing to international resolutions and controlling Lebanon’s border.

The concluding statement said: “We reject the formation of a buffer zone with Syria and the use of Lebanon as an open ground for smuggling arms to Syria.”

Berri Stresses Importance of National Dialogue

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Monday that the resumption of the national dialogue would have a positive impact on the country regardless of the outcome.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Sunday described the national dialogue conference that will be held on Monday at the Baabda Palace as a “waste of time,” noting that “dialogue is a trap because the current government is responsible for this bad situation.”

Earlier this week, the LF announced that it will not take part in the talks despite the participation of its allies in the March 14 camp.

Al-Jadeed female correspondent Ghadi Francis was “severely beaten” on Sunday by MP Asaad Hardan’s bodyguard Hussein Hashem, al-Jadeed television reported.

Francis was in Dhour el-Shweir area to cover the electoral process held by the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said on Sunday that the current phase in Lebanon brings to mind the threats of the 1982 Israeli occupation, calling for dialogue to regulate disputes peacefully.

“We are in a dangerous phase that reminds me of the Israeli invasion in 1982,” Jumblat said, adding that “resolving local disagreements is our responsibility and we must regulate the disputes peacefully, instead of fighting like in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.”

A minor earthquake was felt on Sunday by the residents of the capital Beirut and its suburbs.

Lebanon’s Bhanness seismic center said the epicenter of the 6.0-magnitude tremor was located in Greece.

Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said Sunday that the party is convinced that Lebanon needs a national defense strategy based on cohesion, the strength of Lebanon and the unity of the army, people and the resistance.

“We should be independent and free and not followers,” Qassem said, calling on the Lebanese to build their future without any foreign intervention.

Residents in the northern town of Wadi Khaled blocked the international highway on Sunday to protest the kidnapping of Mohammed Suleiman Ahmed, alias "Abu al-Rouss”, who was abducted from Akkar valley into the Syrian territory.

After the incident triggered tit-for-tat abductions, municipality chiefs and local dignitaries convened, calling on the government and security forces to determine Ahmed’s fate.

President Michel Suleiman extended his condolences to the family of veteran journalist Ghassan Tueni on Sunday, saying the “Dean of Journalists” will be missed at the dialogue table.

Suleiman made the remark to the National News Agency after he and first lady Wafaa went to the St. Nicolas Greek Orthodox church to pay their condolences to Tueni’s family and An Nahar daily’s staff.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu linked on Sunday the massacres in Syria to Iran and Hizbullah, accusing them of providing Syrian President Bashar Assad with assistance.

"It's not just the Syrian government. It is being aided by Iran and Hizbullah," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet session about the massacre of hundreds of civilians in several towns in Syria.