Efforts to resolve the political crisis sparked by last week's assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan continue to evade the various political forces, As Safir daily reported Friday.

As Arab and international concerns mounted over securing civil peace in Lebanon and warding off any negative repercussions of the Syria crisis on Lebanon, it was clear that there is Arab-international consensus to protect Lebanon from the crisis, encourage Lebanese factions to resume dialogue, and preserve the role of state institutions, sources close to the presidential palace in Baabda told the daily.

Mustaqbal bloc MP Nouhad al-Mashnouq revealed that his latest talks with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri were aimed at agreeing on the March 14 camp's next line of action in the wake of the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan, reported An Nahar daily on Friday.

He told the daily that a new government should be comprised of “technocrats, whose political agenda should be based on the Baabda Declaration.”

High-ranking foreign diplomats agreed on Friday that stability in Lebanon is “crucial” for the Lebanese people and the international community as they reached consensus over the importance of the stepping down of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet and the formation of a neutral government.

“Miqati's government can't contribute to maintaining Lebanon's stability, it became part of the crisis, in particular, after the assassination of (Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam) al-Hasan last week,” U.S. Sources said in comments published in the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai.

Former prime minister Saad Hariri on Thursday hit back at Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, describing slain Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan as “the martyr of Lebanon” and slamming the Druze leader for refusing to resign from government.

“Walid Jumblat is quoting me as saying that Wissam al-Hasan is the martyr of the Sunni sect. This is untrue and his ally (PM Najib) Miqati is the one who said that. Wissam al-Hasan is the martyr of Lebanon,” said Hariri on the social networking website Twitter during Jumblat's live interview on LBCI television.

A clash erupted on Thursday evening between security forces and protesters from the March 14 youth organizations at the site of the open-ended sit-in demanding the departure of the government at the Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut.

Media reports said some protesters were severely beaten by army troops, army intelligence agents and Parliament Police.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Thursday criticized the March 14 forces over the clashes that followed the funeral of slain Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, noting that he will remain in the centrist camp together with President Michel Suleiman and that he would accept any solution that spares the country political vacuum.

“Wissam al-Hasan was the good guardian of the Lebanese state, but it was a major mistake to give Wissam al-Hasan a sectarian color after his assassination. Unfortunately, instead of organizing a decent farewell, the funeral ended with chaos,” said Jumblat in an interview on LBCI television.

MP Marwan Hamadeh on Thursday stressed to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius “the need to respect the Baabda Declaration and facilitate President Michel Suleiman's mission to form a new neutral government that would prevent the sliding of the country towards further threats.”

During a meeting in Paris, Hamadeh and Fabius discussed “the situation in Lebanon in light of the latest developments, especially the assassination of Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan and the political and security repercussions that ensued,” according to a statement issued by the MP.

Former prime minister Saad Hariri on Thursday expressed his grief and pain “because Eid al-Adha coincides this year with the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan, who sacrificed his life to maintain the security of the Lebanese and their stability, and foil the plans of the enemies of Lebanon to ignite sectarian discord.”

“This terrorist crime, that also killed innocent victims and destroyed the houses and properties of many citizens in Ashrafiyeh, has deprived the Lebanese people of the usual joy of Eid and brought them back to the atmosphere of anxiety, fear of security risks and return of the specter of political assassinations that Lebanon witnessed before," said Hariri in a statement issued on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.

Hizbullah on Thursday condemned remarks by Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea who accused the party of playing an “executive role” in the assassination of Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, describing them as a “blatant, inflammatory attempt to pour oil on the fire of sectarian strife."

"The leader of the Lebanese Forces party – who is convicted of a series of major crimes against Lebanese individuals and groups, topped by the assassination of martyr premier Rashid Karami – has voiced a chorus of false accusations about an executive role for Hizbullah in the assassination of martyr Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, which we reject entirely,” the party said in a statement.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea lashed out on Thursday at Lebanese security agencies, accusing some officials of carrying out an Iranian-Syrian plot undertaken by Hizbullah inside the country.

“If the case of (former information) Minister Michel Samaha, which led to the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan last week fell in the wrong hands, they might have covered the matter up and Lebanon would have witnessed greater havoc,” Geagea said in comments published in the Saudi daily al-Watan.