Hizbullah is greatly concerned about the prospect of public indictments in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case, in large part because some of the group's senior members have already been named in the media as potential suspects, said the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The Hizbullah members include Qassem Suleiman, Hajj Salim, Abdul Majid Ghamloush, brothers Hussein and Mouin Khreis, and, most significantly, Mustafa Badreddine, the institute said in a report written by Matthew Levitt.

Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji has reportedly visited Damascus to discuss with top Syrian military commanders cooperation between the two countries to preserve stability in Lebanon.

Lebanese security sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Friday that Qahwaji visited the Syrian capital several days ago and discussed with officials there “the ongoing military cooperation between the two countries to preserve security and stability in Lebanon which is witnessing political bickering over ongoing consultations to form the new government.”

Outgoing premier Saad Hariri stressed Thursday that "it is unacceptable that weapons become a means to influence political life in the country," noting that the Lebanese "cannot build a country that way, as a country should have one army, one authority and one State."

"The weapons of any party must not become a means to undermine civil peace and the democratic system," Hariri added.

The release date of the indictment in the 2005 murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri has not changed, Special Tribunal for Lebanon Chief of Public Affairs Crispin Thorold has noted.

In an interview with Lebanese daily Sada al-Balad to be published Friday, Thorold said the U.N.-backed STL is still committed to the 6-10 weeks deadline it had announced before for the indictment to be examined by the pre-trial judge.

Caretaker Labor Minister Butros Harb stated on Thursday that the ongoing consultations in among the March 14 camp are aimed at devising ways to positively deal with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s proposals and confront the campaigns against the president and government in a way that would preserve Lebanon’s political system.

He said after holding talks with Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel: “The March 14 camp is in a constant state of consultation and meetings are held away from the media spotlight in order to maintain its unified position from the government.”

Security forces succeeded on Thursday in arresting Abbas Abu Munthir Tleis, Lebanon’s most wanted individual in a raid in the Brital region in the Bekaa.

Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi stated that the raid took place at Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud’s orders.

Israel’s Channel 1 reported on Thursday that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Benny Gantz’s recent visit to the Lebanese-Israeli border was part of efforts to calm the situation on Israel’s northern border.

It said: “Such a visit by the minister and chief of staff less than 24 hours from his appointment to his position is supposed to deliver a very clear and strong message to Hizbullah that we are here and don’t tamper with our nerves.”

President Michel Suleiman condemned on Thursday Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s recent threat against Lebanon, saying that it was a violation of international law and U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

The president said that the threat was aimed at lifting the Israeli army and the new Israeli chief of staff’s morale “because he knows full well that entering Lebanon is no loner a walk in the park as demonstrated by the July 2006 war.”

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero stressed on Wednesday his country’s commitment to stability and the ceasefire along the Blue Line.

Commenting on Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s recent threats against Lebanon, he said: “France is committed to stability and respecting U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 that calls for a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.”

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil refrained on Wednesday from signing the weekly fuel price list “in an attempt to lower the prices of fuel.”

Meanwhile, fuel importing companies were unable to designate the weekly price and halt the losses that they are incurring as a result of the stabilization of the prices.