President Michel Suleiman has signed a decree to promote 24 colonels in the Internal Security Forces to the rank of brigadier general but excluded the head of the ISF’s Information Branch, Col. Wissam al-Hassan.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel announced Thursday that al-Hassan’s promotion will take place in accordance with a decree to be issued on January 1, 2012 after having completed six years in service.

Former premier Saad Hariri on Thursday stressed that Hizbullah needs to “understand the country is more important than their weapons.”

Asked by a Twitter user whether he had any short-term or long-term plans concerning the disarming of Hizbullah, Hariri said: “Very simple, they need to understand the country is more important than their weapons.”

Former premier Saad Hariri on Tuesday reiterated that the latest spate of security incidents in southern Lebanon was a “message” from Syria, accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s allies in Lebanon of carrying out the attacks.

“The truth is that these things just don't happen, it’s a Syrian message from Bashar through his guys in Lebanon,” Hariri said in English, answering a question from a Twitter user.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri noted on Sunday that slain MP Gebran Tueni’s call for freedom still resonates among the Lebanese, stressing that they ignited the first spark in the Arab revolts against oppression.

He said in a statement marking the sixth anniversary of Tueni’s assassination: “The struggle for freedom that he died for is achieving unprecedented victories throughout the Arab world.”

Former Premier Saad Hariri said Friday’s attack on a UNIFIL patrol in the southern city of Tyre was “another Syrian message from (President) Bashar” Assad.

Five French peacekeepers were injured when a roadside bomb targeted their vehicle. The incident was seen as a message to Western countries, mainly France, over the pressure exerted on Assad.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri slammed on Friday Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s recent speech on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, saying that it reflected his annoyance with the decision to fund the tribunal.

He said in a statement: “A thousand speeches like Nasrallah’s will not eliminate Lebanon’s recognition of the STL.”

The Grinch, the anti-holiday spirited hermit, will have a new address this year. Either the Grand Serail in downtown Beirut or Rabieh.

Premier Najib Miqati, who has threatened to resign if the cabinet failed to approve the funding of the special Tribunal for Lebanon, would put the country in disarray if he goes ahead with his move.

Head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, ex-PM Fouad Saniora, on Sunday called on Premier Najib Miqati to “implement what the people are demanding” and pay Lebanon’s 49 percent annual share of funds to the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Delivering a speech on behalf of ex-PM Saad Hariri at a mass rally organized by the Mustaqbal Movement in the northern city of Tripoli, Miqati’s hometown, Saniora said financing the STL was a duty and not some kind of generosity.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to issue a number of “decisive” positions on several matters during the Mustaqbal Movement’s Tripoli rally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.

Mustaqbal politburo member former MP Mustapha Alloush told the daily: “Hariri’s speech during the rally will pave the way for a new phase in Lebanon, especially after the recent events in country and the region.”

The Mustaqbal movement is gearing up for a mass rally it is planning to hold in the northern city of Tripoli on Sunday on the occasion of Independence Day.

An Nahar daily said that MPs Mohammed Kabbara, Samir al-Jisr, Marwan Hamadeh and Butros Harb will address the crowds. Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora will deliver the speech of former Premier Saad Hariri, it added.