MP Mohammed Raad, head of Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc, on Thursday strongly defended Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government against the opposition’s fierce criticism, during the third round of parliamentary debate over the government’s policies.

Hitting back at lawmakers who criticized Hizbullah’s controversial arsenal of weapons in their speeches, Raad said: “We reiterate that questioning the Resistance's legitimacy is against national principles, as dialogue needs confidence and building confidence requires putting an end to lies and to scaring people with the Resistance and its arms.”

MP Strida Geagea slammed on Wednesday Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad, saying that he could’ve had the minimum amount of “credibility and morality” before criticizing the assassination attempt of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.

MP Geagea said in a statement issued by LF press office that all the official stances confirm the “seriousness of the attack.”

European Parliament members visiting Lebanon on Tuesday lauded “the efforts undertaken by the Lebanese authorities, their partners, the NGOs and the local population to provide assistance” to Syrians fleeing the violence in their country to Lebanon.

The parliamentary delegation comprises Veronique de Keyser, Member of the European Parliament and Vice President for Foreign Affairs of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S & D), and Ana Gomes, Member of the European Parliament and the foreign affairs coordinator of the S & D Group.

Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi was on Monday tasked with preparing a draft-law on the extra-budgetary spending made by the governments of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri in 2006-2010, drawing the ire of the March 14 opposition which is demanding a comprehensive solution that would also include the adoption of a $5.9 billion 2011 spending bill.

After a meeting held at the parliament by Speaker Nabih Berri, PM Najib Miqati, and MPs Michel Aoun, Suleiman Franjieh, Mohammed Raad and Talal Arslan, Safadi was asked to prepare the draft-law for approval by the cabinet, which will later refer it to parliament.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun announced on Friday that newly-appointed Labor Minister Salim Jreissati had become the newest members of the Change and Reform bloc, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

Jreissati meanwhile said that a mission to achieve change and reform “can be achieved without creating disputes.”

Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad stressed on Saturday that any change in Syria should be made by the people without any foreign intervention.

Raad said after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that the two have different points of view over the developments in Syria.

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad said on Saturday that adopting the proportional representation in the new electoral law is “reasonable,” noting that Hizbullah hasn’t taken the final decision concerning the matter.

“In principle it is reasonable but there’s also a need for a balanced representation system. However, we haven’t taken yet our final decision,” Raad told al-Manar TV in an interview.

President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri’s calls to resume the national dialogue have remained unanswered given the division between the government forces and opposition over the purpose of holding the talks, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

It said that the two officials were expected to hold talks after the last week’s al-Adha holiday in order to discuss resuming the dialogue, but the meeting did not transpire.

Russia has informed Hizbullah that the March 8 forces should resign from the government and form a new cabinet that remains committed to international resolutions if the Shiite party and its allies rejected to fund the international tribunal, diplomatic sources said.

The sources told An Nahar daily published Sunday that Moscow’s stance was announced during a meeting last week between the Russian deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, and a Hizbullah delegation led by MP Mohammed Raad.

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad stressed in Friday the need for ongoing cooperation and coordination between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement.

He stated after holding talks with FPM leader MP Michel Aoun: “Reports of tensions between us and the FPM are baseless.”