Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat expressed the Syrian officials’ annoyance over the delay in the Lebanese cabinet formation, after his return from Damascus Thursday night.

“The Syrian officials are aware of the true reasons behind the delay in the government formation,” according to information obtained by al-Liwaa newspaper on Friday.

Building violations on state property have reached dangerous proportions after violations neared the fence of Rafik Hariri international airport, An Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The daily said that violators had built illegally on state property near the new 16th seaside tarmac of the airport and the old number 17 runway, the daily said, warning that such a move could go all the way towards putting the facility on the international blacklist.

A security official revealed to As Safir newspaper on Saturday that the public property construction violations exceed 4,000 plots throughout southern Lebanon, adding that they are far too numerous for the security forces and army to handle.

The newspaper added that the security forces will suffice with recording violations instead of thwarting them.

President Michel Suleiman rejected over the weekend a draft cabinet lineup proposed by Premier-designate Najib Miqati but media reports said Tuesday that discussions have made progress and are now centered on the distribution of portfolios and names of candidates.

Suleiman had remarks on the lineup that Miqati proposed to him on Saturday night during a meeting held at Baabda palace away from the media spotlight, As Safir daily said Tuesday.

Caretaker Transportation and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi stated on Friday that there have been no convincing justifications given over the delay in the government formation.

He told Voice of Lebanon radio: “It appears that the team charged with the forming the government does not trust its members … as if they are waging a battle over the distribution of portfolios.”

Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil unveiled that agreement has been reached between Premier-designate Najib Miqati and the March 8 forces to form a 30-member cabinet but stressed that the Free Patriotic Movement is insisting on forming a government made up of 32 ministers.

“There is an agreement on an initial 30-member government formula that allows us to move to the next stage,” Bassil told An Nahar daily in remarks published Thursday.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat discussed the latest developments and cabinet formation efforts, a Hizbullah statement said Monday.

The statement said that Caretaker Minister Ghazi Aridi and Wafiq Safa attended the meeting at an undisclosed location. It did not say when the meeting took place.

The Lebanese were optimistic on Friday that the new government would be formed within days after a new draft lineup proposed by Premier-designate Najib Miqati reportedly received the consent of major political parties.

“Lebanon will have a government before the end of the month. The next few days are decisive and crucial,” a source close to Miqati told several Lebanese dailies.

Caretaker Minister Ghazi Aridi confirmed on Tuesday that the meeting between National Struggle Front leader Walid Jumblat and Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun was a continuation to previous talks held between the two parties.

Jumblat’s meeting with Aoun “doesn’t necessarily mean that the cabinet will be formed,” Aridi told Voice of Mada radio station.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has stressed that there were no regional obstacles to the formation of the cabinet, saying his meeting with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on Monday night came as part of the need to unify the vision of the March 8 camp.

“The meeting was excellent,” Jumblat said in remarks published by An Nahar daily on Tuesday. “It comes as part of necessary steps to unify the vision within the single team.”