The so-called ‘change MPs’, or the lawmakers who emerged from the October 17 uprising, on Tuesday imposed elections – rather than the traditional consensus – in choosing the members of the parliamentary committees.

The election of the members of the finance and justice committees took a lot of time, the National News Agency said, as Speaker Nabih Berri decried the absence of “consensus.”

The United States has said that it “strongly” supports any efforts aimed at securing an agreement between Lebanon and Israel over the demarcation of their sea border, following tensions sparked by the arrival of a gas ship in the Karish offshore field.

“I don’t have any travel to announce or to preview at this time, but as you’ve heard from us before, the Israel-Lebanon maritime border, that’s a decision for both Israel and Lebanon to make,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday, when asked whether U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein intends to visit Lebanon and Israel.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Tuesday stressed the importance of keeping the sea border demarcation file “away from domestic bickering and political calculations,” seeing as it “concerns all Lebanese.”

In a statement, Miqati emphasized that “the Lebanese state is following up on this sovereign par excellence file,” adding that “it is being addressed through diplomatic means in order to reach positive results.”

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced Tuesday that U.S. energy mediator Amos Hochstein will visit Lebanon on “Sunday or Monday” to discuss the offshore gas row between Lebanon and Israel.

Berri made the announcement in response to remarks in parliament by MP Paula Yacoubian, who said that “the issue related to our maritime resources and Line 29 cannot be postponed,” suggesting that parliament discuss an urgent draft law that it has received in this regard.

the Oct. 17 MPs condemned Monday the arrival in disputed waters of a vessel intended to start producing gas for Israel.

"Amending the 6433 Decree is a national duty and we have legal proofs that Lebanon has the right to the Line 29," MP Melhem Khalaf said from Parliament on behalf of the reformist MPs.

Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday that the gas field dispute with Lebanon will be resolved through a U.S. mediation.

"The dispute will be resolved in the framework of negotiations between us and Lebanon, mediated by the United States," Gantz said.

The Free Patriotic Movement on Monday defended President Michel Aoun, noting that he or others “cannot consider Line 29 to be an official line for Lebanon if it does not get endorsed in a decision or decree by the Lebanese government.”

“Line 29 has been adopted by the Lebanese team as a negotiations line, and the President and others cannot consider it to be an official line for Lebanon if it does not get endorsed in a decision or decree by the Lebanese government,” the FPM said in a statement.

President Michel Aoun and Caretaker PM Najib Miqati agreed on Monday to invite U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein to visit Beirut in order to resume the stalled negotiations over the maritime demarcation with Israel, the Presidency said.

The two leaders agreed that the demarcation must be completed "as soon as possible in order to avoid any escalation," after a gas drilling ship had entered a disputed sea area, sparking Lebanese condemnation.

Caretaker Labor Minister Mustafa Bayram on Monday announced that Hizbullah is practicing “positive silence” regarding the Lebanon-Israel row over offshore gas drilling.

“The resistance is practicing positive silence and the Lebanese stance must remain firm,” Bayram, who is close to Hizbullah, told al-Jadeed TV.

President Michel Aoun on Sunday held phone talks with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and a number of officials following the reports about the entry of the gas drilling ship Energean Power into a sea border area disputed by Lebanon, the Presidency said.