Interior Minister Marwan Charbel called on Tuesday for a state of political emergency to find an exit to the fighting between pro- and anti-Syrian regime supporters in Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli.

“Street battles will continue if politicians do not reach an agreement,” Charbel warned.

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Tuesday that there are no dangers in Lebanon that can prevent Arab nationals from visiting the country.

He said: “Lebanon is keen on the safety of the visiting nationals.”

Amnesty International urged the Lebanese authorities on Tuesday to launch an independent investigation rather than the one carried out by the army into the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed.

The Sunni cleric and his companion Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Merheb were shot dead on Sunday at an army checkpoint in al-Kweikhat in the northern Akkar region.

The Israeli army’s deputy chief of staff, Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh, expressed fears on Tuesday that the Syrian regime could transfer to Hizbullah advanced weaponry that it is still in control of.

"The missile, rocket and chemical capabilities are remarkably still under the control of the current regime," The Jerusalem Post quoted Naveh as telling a defense conference.

Judge Saqr Saqr decided on Tuesday to release Shadi al-Mawlawi after over a week in custody.

He declared upon his release that he was “wrongfully arrested for aiding Syrian refugees in Lebanon.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Tuesday that Lebanon would not yield to internal and external pressure to change its policy of dissociating itself form the Syrian crisis.

In remarks to Ad-Diyar newspaper, Berri expressed regret that four Gulf countries have advised their citizens not to travel to Lebanon, hoping that such a decision was not part of the pressure exerted on Lebanese officials to change their policies towards Syria.

The March 14 opposition coalition is planning to hold a large-scale meeting in an effort to end “the dictates of the Syrian regime” following deadly clashes that have left several people dead in Beirut and the northern port city of Tripoli.

Contacts have been made between the March 14 leaderships since the latest incidents erupted, An Nahar daily reported Tuesday.

A Pakistani national could be planning to place chemical agents in the ventilation system of Rafik Hariri International Airport, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The daily said that the airport’s security apparatuses are now questioning people that have Pakistani or Indian features after receiving the information from a Western intelligence agency that also provided them with the man’s sketch.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea reiterated on Tuesday that the government should resign and be replaced by a neutral cabinet over the recent deadly clashes that shook Beirut and the northern port city of Tripoli.

In remarks to al-Mustaqbal newspaper, Geagea said: “The solution would be for the government to leave immediately and be replaced by a neutral cabinet.”

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour held talks on Tuesday with diplomats of three Gulf countries that have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon in his ongoing effort to persuade them to review their decisions.

The current security tension in Lebanon is provisional and does not require such decisions, Mansour reportedly told the ambassadors of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.