Speaker Nabih Berri renewed on Wednesday the importance of dialogue in Lebanon, especially under the current circumstances in the region.

He said before MPs during his weekly meeting at parliament: “Lebanon is not isolated from the rest of the region and we should not hesitate in implementing any step that would help fortify it.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned on Wednesday the attacks against the French unit in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon that took place near Sidon on Tuesday, thanking the French government for all its support for Lebanon.

He noted: “The security situation can never turn to normal as long as there are hundreds of thousands of unofficial security apparatuses.”

President Michel Suleiman cabled his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday stressing Lebanon’s keenness on the safety of UNIFIL troops following the roadside bombing that targeted a French patrol near the southern port city of Sidon.

In his cable, Suleiman “condemned the attack on the French unit and reiterated Lebanon’s keenness on the safety of UNIFIL members.”

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday Hizbullah’s “provocation” of comparing four suspects in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri to saints.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “These stands demonstrate the party’s nervousness ahead of the unveiling of the truth.”

A debate has emerged among the Lebanese forces allied to Syria over Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat’s recent positions, with some sides voicing their disappointment with them, revealed a March 8 source to al-Jumhuriya newspaper on Wednesday.

“We are monitoring his stances” in apprehension of any shift in his alliance, it added.

Britain's foreign minister for the Middle East and Africa has expressed concern over the roadside bombing that targeted a UNIFIL convoy near the southern port city of Sidon on Tuesday.

"I am deeply concerned by reports of another attack against a UNIFIL patrol in South Lebanon. My sympathy is with the injured and their families,” said Alistair Burt in a statement.

Phalange leader Amin Gemayel has reportedly said that his party would not engage in dialogue with representatives of Hizbullah who consider the four suspects accused of involvement in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 murder as “saints.”

An Nahar daily said Wednesday that Gemayel made his remarks to President Michel Suleiman the day before after the president launched consultations to inquire about the politicians’ viewpoints on his invitation for national dialogue.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati has denounced the roadside bombing that targeted the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the southern city of Sidon.

Miqati contacted Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi on Tuesday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council strongly condemned the attack against a convoy of vehicles carrying members of the United Nations peacekeeping force near the southern city of Sidon in which five soldiers were wounded.

Ban “deeply disturbed” by the attack targeting the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to a statement issued by his spokesperson Martin Nesirky.

The United States strongly condemned an attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, saying the Lebanese government should conduct a "full investigation" into the roadside bombing.

State Department spokeswoman Heide Fulton said on Tuesday that the government should "ensure the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice."