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.

Speaker Nabih Berri considered on Tuesday that politicians can't act “rationally” and “realistically,” expressing concern over the security situation in the country.

“The Lebanese mentality hasn't changed a bit... The stances adopted by politicians will never change,” Berri said in comments published in local newspaper.

The Constitutional Council is likely to approve challenges made by the president and the Free Patriotic Movement against parliament's extension of its mandate but Speaker Nabih Berri warned that elections cannot be held amid the deteriorating security situation in the country.

Informed sources have told several local dailies published on Monday that the council's decision is expected to be issued no later than June 20 when parliament's four-year mandate expires.

Speaker Nabih Berri called on Wednesday for intensified efforts to strengthen stability in the northern city of Tripoli and support the military's role there.

Berri's stance came during his weekly meeting with lawmakers.

The head of the Arab Democratic Party, Rifaat Eid, has expressed reservations over raids carried out by the Lebanese army in his stronghold in the northern city of Tripoli as Speaker Nabih Berri hinted that a fifth column was seeking to create tension in the area.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, Eid said the army made unusual steps in the neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen on Tuesday by “raiding our homes and ransacking them and we haven't made a move against it.”

Speaker Nabih Berri lashed out at critics on Tuesday, stressing that he sought consensus between the political foes over a new electoral law.

“I didn't neglect my responsibilities and did everything I can for the rival parties to reach common ground,” Berri's visitors quoted him as saying.

The Phalange Party on Monday called on the Lebanese army and all political forces to prevent the smuggling of fighters into Syria by Hizbullah or any other group, warning of the growing spillover of the Syrian war into Lebanon's border towns.

In a statement issued after the weekly meeting of its political bureau, the party reiterated its “condemnation of the growing involvement by Hizbullah and other Lebanese groups in the ongoing civil strife in Syria,” holding them responsible for “dragging Lebanon into a war that is rejected by its people.”

A parliamentary session set to be held on Friday to vote for the extension of its mandate by around 17 months drew sharp criticism amid vows by President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun to challenge the decision.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper the United States and several European countries slammed the move through diplomatic channels.

Independent March 14 lawmakers expressed on Thursday regret over attempts to extend the parliament's term, considering that it opposes the democratic system and the principle of rotation in power.

“The security situation and the cabinet and parliament's inability to agree on an electoral law compel the forced extension of the legislature's term, which opposes the democratic norms,” a statement issued by the MPs said.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel stressed on Thursday that his party will not allow any electoral law to be adopted at the expense of true partnership and the Christian representation, describing the 1960 law as a “heresy.”

“Unfortunately, some Christian powers are accomplices in marginalizing Christians and weakening their role in Lebanon,” Gemayel said.