Saudi Arabia is putting more pressure on Prime Minister Saad Hariri to reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the 2005 assassination of his father ex-PM, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on its website.

In return, it said, Hizbullah would guarantee Hariri that it would not harm him. Hizbullah would also avoid any overt military activities and Hariri would be allowed to maintain his own security apparatus.

A Saudi-Syria compromise based on Lebanon's withdrawal from the international tribunal is likely to be announced by January 15, the daily Al-Akhbar newspaper said Wednesday.

It said Syrian President Bashar Assad updated President Michel Suleiman during a Dec. 26 phone call on the content of his conversation with Saudi King Abdullah and his son Prince Abdul Aziz regarding the Syrian-Saudi compromise "which is near-completion."

A specialized counterterrorism army unit on Thursday staged a tactical exercise in a number of populated areas in Beirut's suburbs, the Army Command's Orientation Directorate announced in a statement.

"The exercise included the arrest of supposed individuals, who may have infiltrated the country with the aim of plotting terrorist acts against several locations," the statement added

Lebanese Forces leader MP Antoine Zahra stated on Thursday that the LF supports any Arab and international effort to help Lebanon, stressing that the solution to the Lebanese political crisis should remain strictly Lebanese.

Addressing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, he said: "Despite the campaign that was prepared to eliminate the tribunal, we have reached the moment of truth."

Mustaqbal MPs Samir Jisr and Hadi Hobeish on Thursday held a joint press conference in response to remarks by head of Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc Mohammed Raad on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

"We have no idea whether the indictments are based on telecommunications evidence," Hobeish told Raad.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad members have received training in Lebanon, Syria and Iran and returned to the Gaza strip to train other fighters, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The newspaper said that Iranian and Syrian experts have also improved the fighting capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants as part of an operation to restructure the force of Palestinian factions that was destroyed during Israel's last aggression on Gaza.

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Thursday called in his Christmas message on the various Lebanese sides to "sacrifice" for Lebanon.

"The holidays, as every year, arrived amidst a split among Lebanese and the faithful cannot hide their concerns about their country .They are split," Sfeir said in the message.

Three men, including two Lebanese, were found guilty Thursday of plotting to attack a Sydney army base with high-powered weapons and kill as many people as possible to further the cause of Islam.

The Supreme Court in Melbourne heard that the men, who have been linked with Islamic extremists in Somalia, planned to continue their rampage at Sydney's Holsworthy army barracks until they were killed or captured.

A high-ranking U.S. official has denied that Washington was informed about a Saudi-Syrian deal over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and stressed the court will continue to operate despite Hizbullah's threats.

"Saudi officials have told us that they were absolutely committed to building a positive relationship between Lebanon and Syria based on mutual respect and non-interference of any side in the other party's internal affairs," the official told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Thursday.

State Minister Adnan Sayyed Hussein confirmed that a settlement over the cabinet crisis would be reached soon and Saudi-Syrian efforts would have positive results.

He told al-Liwaa daily in remarks published Thursday that President Michel Suleiman will remain a consensus head of state and his camp will continue to seek for calm and stability.