Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri confirmed on Thursday his candidacy for a new term, after Hizbullah and its allies prompted the collapse of his government last week.

"A constitutional process is under way and we will accept its results despite intimidation on the street and elsewhere," Hariri said in a televised address to the nation.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has stressed that Lebanon will not be able to "turn the page on political assassinations forever without achieving justice," noting that stability in Lebanon was "everyone's essential demand."

"Any party that wants to mess with it (stability) will have to confront several foes -- Lebanese, Arabs and others," Abul Gheit said in an interview with Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai to be published Friday.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal's recent statements that the Kingdom has abandoned the Saudi-Syrian mediation to end the Lebanese political crisis are a "loud warning bell signifying the magnitude of the Lebanese problem," reported Saudi al-Watan newspaper on Thursday.

The decisive Saudi position came as a result of Hizbullah's ignoring of the diplomatic efforts by countries keen on Lebanon's stability, security, and unity, it continued.

Caretaker Education Minister Hasan Mneimneh criticized on Thursday “media incitement aimed at weakening the government and confusing the citizen.”

He praised during a press conference the achievements of the now caretaker government saying: “In his role as prime minister, Saad Hariri stood at an equal distance from all his ministers and ministries … but the opposition bargained the country’s needs because of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”

Naharnet has learned that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has informed concerned officials in the Mustqbal movement that he is being subject to great pressures against naming Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri as the premier of a new government, knowing that he had previously informed Hariri that he would be naming him.

Jumblat did not elaborate on the reasons for his new position.

Egypt has suggested the formation of an Arab League committee to follow up developments in Lebanon but Syria rejected, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Wednesday.

Al-Hayat said the suggestion was made by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit during the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday.

Paris urged all Lebanese parties to respect the independent work of the international tribunal and expressed regret that attempts to establish a "contact group" on Lebanon haven't so far garnered enough support.

"France reiterates its continued commitment to international justice and the battle against impunity," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare is "very concerned with the recent unauthorized broadcasts on some Lebanese TV channels of what appear to be interviews conducted by officials of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC)," the Office of the Prosecutor announced Tuesday in a statement.

"This material is confidential and protected information and was made public in breach of the law. The Prosecutor is exploring all possible avenues, in The Hague and in Lebanon, to determine how this confidential information came into the public domain and to prevent any further unauthorized disclosure," said the statement.

The U.S. said it supports French President Nicolas Sarkozy's suggestion to form a contact group on Lebanon and stressed that it was urging Syria to respect the country's sovereignty.

"We are supporting this process. But as to when diplomats get together, I can't project at this point," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in his briefing on Tuesday about the French proposal.

The foreign ministers of Turkey and Qatar met overnight Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah following four hours of talks with caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri to find ways to resolve the tribunal crisis.

A statement issued by Hizbullah on Wednesday said talks late Tuesday with Nasrallah focused on "proposed solutions" to the political crisis.