Free Patriotic Movement's Caretaker Minister Jebran Bassil denied on Thursday that the ties with Hizbullah and AMAL are shaky over the March 8 dispute on the 17-month parliamentary mandate extension, slamming the political pressure exerted on the members of the Constitutional Council.

“The dispute with Hizbullah over the 17-month parliamentary mandate extension is no secret,” Bassil told As Safir newspaper.

Hours after a helicopter gunship fired missiles at a majority Sunni town in eastern Lebanon Wednesday, Syria's army command said it respects its neighbor's sovereignty and territorial integrity, state news agency SANA said.

The army said it will continue to target rebels across Syrian territory, but that it is "committed to respecting the sovereignty of the Lebanese republic, its territorial integrity and the safety of its people".

Three judges boycotted a meeting of the Constitutional Council for the second day in a row on Wednesday, depriving the 10-member body of the quorum needed to rule on petitions filed against the extension of parliament's mandate.

Despite the boycott, the present members agreed to hold open-ended meetings starting Tuesday to rule on the challenges against the legislature's 17-month extension.

President Michel Suleiman is expected to launch an initiative to find ways to confront a decision by Gulf Cooperation Council countries to take measures against Hizbullah's military intervention in Syria, Baabda palace sources said Wednesday.

The sources told An Nahar daily that the initiative comes in the presence of a caretaking cabinet and the absence of the new government that Premier-designate Tammam Salam is seeking to form.

Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad visited President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday, the first such meeting between the two sides after the head of state's criticism of the party's involvement in the fighting in Syria.

The meeting lasted 45 minutes and Raad left the presidential palace without making any statement.

The Constitutional Council, which was set to study petitions filed against the extension of parliament’s term, failed to convene on Tuesday over lack of quorum, a sign that several of its members intended to validate the extension law.

The approval or the rejection of the petitions filed by President Michel Suleiman and the Change and Reform bloc requires the go-ahead of seven out of the council's 10 members.

President Michel Suleiman urged on Monday the Iranian embassy and Hizbullah to help investigators uncover the details of a deadly attack on protesters in the Hizbullah stronghold of Beirut's southern suburbs.

In a statement issued by Baabda palace, Suleiman stressed “the importance of the cooperation of citizens and the region's parties mainly Hizbullah, and the Iranian embassy to facilitate the mission of specialized agencies in revealing the circumstances” of the incident.

Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour reiterated on Sunday calls on Arab countries that are keen to aid the Syrian people and preserve stability in Lebanon to help it confront the growing challenge imposed by the large influx of refugees.

“The Lebanese state can no longer endure the displacement crisis,” Abou Faour said in comments published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.

The Constitutional Council is expected to take its decision regarding the challenges made by President Michel Suleiman and the Free Patriotic Movement on the 17-month extension of parliament's mandate during the upcoming week utmost.

According to An Nahar newspaper the council will has to hold a meeting during two or three days farthermost to announce its decision over the challenges after its head Issam Suleiman completed his report.

President Michel Suleiman discussed on Saturday with Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors Lebanon's suggestion to help it confront the influx of Syrian refugees, Baabda palace said.

The terse statement said the meeting, which was attended by caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, tackled the proposals made by Lebanese authorities for the contribution of several states in sharing the burden of the refugees.