Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Thursday described a wall constructed and later removed by protesters under Jounieh’s Nahr el-Kalb bridge as “isolation wall.”

“The priority today is to form a government of salvation and prevent destructive thought from taking the country into a clash. Beware of the walls of segregation that drag people into infighting,” said Bassil in a tweet.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi emphasized during talks with caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil the “need to form a government that people trust,” the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States of fueling protests in Lebanon and Iraq, Iranian media said on Thursday.

An army intelligence agent involved in the Khalde incident that resulted in the death of the protester Alaa Abu Fakhr was referred to the judiciary on Wednesday.

“The Intelligence Directorate has referred First Adjutant Charbel Hjeil to the relevant judicial authorities after interrogating him over the incident that resulted in the martyrdom of Alaa Abu Fakhr,” the Army Command’s Orientation Directorate said in a statement.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday stressed that “security must have the priority over anything else,” renewing his call for “speeding up the formation of an inclusive government that can fulfill the aspirations of the Lebanese.”

Extending condolences to the family of slain protester Alaa Abu Fakhr, who was killed overnight as an army officer’s driver opened fire at a road-blocking protest in Khalde, Berri called for “preserving public order at educational, health and social institutions” and for “safeguarding civil peace and national unity.”

Large numbers of protesters were on Wednesday rallying near the presidential palace in Baabda, in the first major demo in the area since the eruption of the popular uprising on October 17.

The protesters were flocking to the area from Beirut, Tripoli and several Lebanese regions.

Clashes erupted Wednesday between protesters and Free Patriotic Movement supporters at a road-blocking protest in Jal el-Dib.

Media reports said security forces arrested a man who opened fire in the air to intimidate protesters.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Wednesday described slain protester Alaa Abu Fakhr as “the martyr of the Lebanese revolution and the PSP.”

“The best way to honor him is to maintain the peaceful revolution, without any tension, upheaval or narrow partisanship,” Jumblat tweeted.

The Press Office of caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri issued the following statement on Wednesday:

Lebanese protesters blocked major highways with burning tires and roadblocks on Wednesday, saying they will remain in the streets despite the president's appeal for them to go home.

Schools and universities were closed and banks remained shuttered — a reflection of the deepening political and financial crisis the tiny country faces. A man was killed by a Lebanese soldier during Tuesday night protests, marking the first such fatality since nationwide demonstrations engulfed the country on Oct. 17.