The Phalange Party praised on Monday the discovery of a ‘takfiri’ cell in the Lebanese army, which was seeking to carry out attacks against the army.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “We condemn attempts to harm the military institution because it represents national unity and the country’s sovereignty.”

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stated on Monday that the developments in Syria are not linked to the country’s opposition, reported the National News Agency.

He said: “The crisis is an excuse to settle scores with the ruling regime.”

U.S. Special Coordinator for Regional Affairs Frederic Hof visited Lebanon on Monday where he held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati and other senior government officials, announced the U.S. Embassy in a statement.

He renewed his country’s commitment to a stable, sovereign, and independent Lebanon, encouraging it to continue its efforts to resolve the dispute over its maritime boundaries.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday accused Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun of waging a “campaign” against him personally and his party because of “the LF’s central role at the domestic and regional levels,” and to “deviate attention from his ministerial team’s catastrophic failure.”

“The other camp’s stances on Bkirki and the patriarch are well-known by all the Lebanese, as it has never cared for (Bkirki), especially that it has a lot of irreligious people among its ranks,” Geagea said in an interview with the privately-owned Central News Agency.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat rejected on Monday Syrian President Bashar Assad’s remarks that his regime will remain, “but Syria will be divided.”

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “The political solution that calls for the end of the Syrian regime is the only way to settle the crisis.”

Lebanon First MP Khaled al-Daher rejected on Monday the “great lie” of the existence of a salafist Islamic cell within the Lebanese army.

He said in a statement from parliament: “We refuse to jump to conclusions in this matter before the official investigations in these claims are revealed.”

UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Paolo Serra said on Monday that the peacekeepers were able to successfully achieve some key mandated objectives but stressed challenges remain.

“In the period ahead, my focus will be to assist the parties to maintain and solidify the cessation of hostilities and respect (Security Council) resolution 1701,” Serra said at a ceremony at the mission headquarters in Naqoura to observe the 34th anniversary of the peacekeepers’ presence in southern Lebanon.

Beirut Examining Magistrate Ghassan Owaidat postponed on Monday the interrogation of Samih al-Natour, who is accused along with his brother of processing and selling spoiled meat and other food products, as well as the attempted murders of the consumers to whom they knowingly sold the food, reported the National News Agency.

The interrogation has been postponed to March 29 after Natour’s lawyer Malek Mneiemneh presented Owaidat with a memorandum.

The Israeli forces have not set a definite date to construct a concrete wall along the Blue Line adjacent to the southern town of Kfarkila, despite their strong presence in the area, the An Nahar daily said Monday.

Logistical reasons could be delaying the construction of the wall, sources following up on the issue said, and pointed out that the process could kick off by the end of March following Earth Day celebrations.

Sidon’s Examining Magistrate Mounif Barakat demanded the death penalty for the Syrian who stabbed a Lebanese man in the southern port city, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

According to the agency, Barakat called in his indictment for the death penalty against Nasser Mohammed Hassan al-Fares, 22, for stabbing to death money exchange shop owner Mohammed al-Natout, 66, and stealing $5,000 from him on February 29.