Speaker Nabih Berri has not coordinated his call for dialogue with the Hizbullah leadership, revealed sources close to the party to the daily An Nahar Saturday.

They noted that it appears that Berri had taken it upon himself to issue the call for dialogue, “which he has the right to, especially since the region is witnessing several important developments.”

Hizbullah sources denied on Friday that it had received word that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon had received a memorandum from former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Marwan Dalal confirming Israel’s involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The sources told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency: “This is a new test of the STL’s credibility.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stated on Thursday that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had committed “in principle” to the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

He told BBC television in an interview set to be broadcast later on Thursday: “Nasrallah never said ‘no’ to the tribunal. Of course the party has its reservations on the STL, but he left it up to the constitutional institutions to assume their duties in this matter.”

Hizbullah has congratulated the Palestinians on winning UNESCO membership, slamming the United States as "racist" over its decision to vote against the move.

"Hizbullah congratulates the Palestinian people on gaining full UNESCO membership, which is their natural right," the Shiite group said.

A strong support by Hizbullah, Amal and Free Patriotic Movement ministers to an electoral draft law based on a system of proportional representation will likely lead to major clashes between them and the Progressive Socialist Party which prefers the winner-takes-all system.

During a cabinet session chaired by President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace on Tuesday, the ministers representing Hizbullah, Amal and the FPM expressed their backing to the draft law proposed by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday noted that “solving the issue of Hizbullah’s arms is not in the hands of the Lebanese alone,” emphasizing the international community’s role in that regard.

Upon his return to Beirut from a pastoral visit to the United States and a brief trip to the Vatican, al-Rahi said: “I have said that it will be a major feast in Lebanon when the Resistance hands over its weapons, but what’s more important is that I have said the international community must play a role to solve this Lebanese-international issue.”

Premier Najib Miqati stressed on Sunday that his cabinet’s main objective is to guarantee stability in Lebanon and expressed hope that consultations between Lebanese officials on the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would lead to a “positive outcome.”

“One of the major objectives of this government is to achieve stability because it is the key to all proposed projects for reform, investment and economic growth,” Miqati told Tele Liban.

Russia has informed Hizbullah that the March 8 forces should resign from the government and form a new cabinet that remains committed to international resolutions if the Shiite party and its allies rejected to fund the international tribunal, diplomatic sources said.

The sources told An Nahar daily published Sunday that Moscow’s stance was announced during a meeting last week between the Russian deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, and a Hizbullah delegation led by MP Mohammed Raad.

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad stressed in Friday the need for ongoing cooperation and coordination between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement.

He stated after holding talks with FPM leader MP Michel Aoun: “Reports of tensions between us and the FPM are baseless.”

The Phalange Party praised on Monday the residents of the town of Tarshish for preventing Hizbullah from expanding its telecommunications network in the town.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “The incident confirms that Hizbullah is pursuing its plan to construct its own state by bringing together the regions it controls under its own telecommunications network.”