Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil accused on Thursday Israel of “manipulating stability and using the takfiri attacks to change the balance of powers,” considering that the resistance's operation in the Shebaa Farms occurred on Lebanese soil.

“The ministerial statement states the liberation of the Shebaa Farms and the occupied Lebanese territories with all the possible means,” Bassil said in an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper.

Speaker Nabih Berri refused on Wednesday staging of parliamentary elections, if it was boycotted by a key party.

“I support the staging of parliamentary elections but reject carrying it out if a key party boycotted it,” Berri said during his weekly meeting with lawmakers at Ain el-Tineh.

Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri condemned on Wednesday the silence over the recent clashes in the Bekaa region of Brital and the bombing of an Israeli patrol in the Shebaa Farms, wondering whether the “Lebanese people should turn a blind eye to Hizbullah's actions.”

He said in a statement that the party's “insistence to adopt such choices, whether they are arbitrary or serve foreign agendas, not only hinder national efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, but they raise questions over the violations of issues that enjoy national consensus.”

Speaker Nabih Berri voiced his agreement with Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri's position that priority in Lebanon lies in electing a new president, reported the daily An Nahar on Wednesday.

He told the daily: “Political life in Lebanon will be stabilized with the election of a president.”

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement Saad Hariri is expected to meet with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday in the Italian capital Rome.

Local newspapers published on Wednesday reported that the meeting will tackle the presidential impasse.

Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri held talks on Tuesday with French President Francois Hollande in Paris on the latest local and regional developments.

The former premier said after the meeting at the Elysee Palace that the presidential elections should take place before parliamentary ones.

Kataeb Party Leader Amin Gemayel stressed that coordination is ongoing with his party's key March 14 ally al-Mustaqbal Movement, revealing that priority at this stage is to safeguard Lebanon from the repercussions of the dramatic developments in the region.

“I agreed with head of al-Mustaqbal movement MP Saad Hariri on the importance of staging the presidential elections swiftly,” Gemayel told al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Tuesday.

A meeting is expected to be held in the French capital Paris between Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel and al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday that the two leaders will hold talks in Paris although no prior appointment was arranged with Hariri.

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to meet with French President Francois Hollande next week, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Thursday.

According to the daily, the meeting, which will be held on Tuesday in Paris, will tackle the ongoing political deadlock in Lebanon.

Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri criticized on Sunday the Syrian National Coalition's complaint to the United Nations Security Council over the Lebanese army's treatment of Syrian refugees in the northeastern region of Arsal, deeming it as a “misstep” and saying that it disregards the ties between the Lebanese and Syrian people.

He said in a statement: “The Syrian National Coalition has the right to defend the refugees' humanitarian rights … but the interests of the refugees and Syrian revolt also requires them to raise their voice and demand the release of the Lebanese soldiers and policemen abducted by Islamists in August.”