The army blocked the dirt road at the Hekr al-Dahri bridge over the Kabir River on the northern border with Syria in Akkar, the state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.

It was also said that the army deployed checkpoints in different areas of Akkar and organized patrols in several villages.

President Michel Suleiman said on Saturday that he understood the reasons why the Phalange Party expressed its reservation over the resistance clause in the newly-drafted government policy statement.

He said: “The party's reservation stems from its keenness on the state.”

Speaker Nabih Berri called on Saturday parliament to convene next week in order to discuss the government policy statement, reported Voice of Lebanon radio.

It said that he called parliament to meet at 10:30 a.m. on March 19 and 20.

State Security Forces in the Bekaa arrested on Friday a five-member gang, all Lebanese, involved in counterfeiting and circulating money notes, the state-run National News Agency said on Saturday.

The gang, which includes a woman, was arrested for trading with counterfeit currency inside Lebanon and abroad, NNA added.

President Michel Suleiman stressed that he will call for the resumption of the national dialogue after the government earns parliament's vote of confidence, while emphasizing the importance of the Baabda Declaration in protecting Lebanon, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Anba on Saturday.

He told the daily: “Adhering to the Declaration is key to resolving disputes in Lebanon.”

The cabinet on Friday endorsed its policy statement during a session that was delayed for more than three hours for strenuous consultations, as the three ministers of the Phalange Party and Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi voiced reservations over the clause related to resistance against Israel.

“The cabinet has endorsed the policy statement amid the reservations of the ministers of the Phalange Party Sejaan Qazzi (Labor), Ramzi Jreij (Information) and Alain Hakim (Economy), in addition to Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi,” state-run National News Agency reported.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who led the regime's negotiating team at failed peace talks this year, underwent a successful heart operation in Lebanon on Friday, Syrian television reported.

Muallem, the chief diplomat of President Bashar Assad's regime throughout the three-year civil war, had undergone tests for a suspected blocked coronary artery, a medical source in the Lebanese capital told Agence France Presse.

The Israeli army said it shelled a Hizbullah position in southern Lebanon on Friday after an explosion targeted an Israeli patrol on the border, as the Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant reportedly claimed responsibility for the bomb attack.

Agence France Presse quoted a Lebanese security source as saying that Israel shelled southern Lebanon after an explosion on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed during a rally marking the ninth anniversary of the March 14 “Independence Uprising” on Friday that “any resistance outside state's authority” is “illegitimate,” calling on his coalition to endorse a “strong” March 14 presidential nominee even if there are “several candidates.”

“The previous and current experiences of the Lebanese with Hizbullah and its allies have proven that they do not have any consideration for the Lebanese state and the future of the Lebanese and their security, neither for their own commitments and pledges,” Geagea said via video link from Maarab, addressing the rally that was held at the BIEL exhibition center in Beirut.

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora stressed on Friday that the March 14 forces will remain committed to the authority of the state throughout all of its endeavors, while highlighting the values of democracy and dialogue.

He said: “Our hand is extended to the other camp only under the authority of the state.”