Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel announced Sunday that "the rift in Lebanon is not sectarian or between certain regions but rather between thugs and decent people."

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday lauded President Michel Aoun's initiative of holding phone talks with Speaker Nabih Berri following the political storm sparked by leaked remarks against the Speaker.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed Friday that “the country's dignity is more important than the dignity of individuals and parties,” in the wake of three days of unrest sparked by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's labeling of Speaker Nabih Berri as a “thug.”

“The martyr premier (Rafik Hariri) and we after him have faced waves of statements and insults that are much worse than what you are hearing today, but we have always considered the country's dignity to be more important than the dignity of individuals and parties,” Hariri said during a Mustaqbal Movement rally.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called Friday for preserving security and stability in Lebanon, following three days of unrest sparked by remarks against him by Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil.

“Regardless of the problems that might happen, we must always preserve security and stability in the country in order to confront the major challenges,” Berri said.

President Michel Aoun reassured Friday that “lessons have been drawn from the latest incidents,” referring to three days of unrest and protests that followed leaked and harsh remarks by Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil against Speaker Nabih Berri.

“Things have returned to normal and the situations have been settled,” Aoun added, reiterating his call for “resolving all disputes with state institutions and not on the streets.”

A delegation of Hizbullah and AMAL lawmakers visited the municipality of Hadath on Friday to ease a row with the Free Patriotic Movement and the rising tensions among their supporters that almost threw the country off balance.

Three inmates have reportedly managed to escape at dawn from a district prison in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, media reports said on Friday.

The National News Agency said three suspects, arrested for drug trafficking, managed to escape at dawn from a prison in Baalbek police station fleeing through a window and using blankets as a rope.

Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil vowed that Beirut will go ahead with oil and gas exploration near its maritime border despite Israeli claims to the field that provoked wide condemnation in the tiny Arab country.

The Internal Security Forces arrested a suspect in the western Bekaa town of Jib Janine in connection with the abduction of a man who had gone missing a while ago, the ISF said in a statement on Friday.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri, together with the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Philippe Lazzarini and Social Affairs Minister Pierre Bou Assi on Thursday launched the 2018 update of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) 2017-2020 at the Grand Serail.

The Government of Lebanon and its national and international partners appealed for USD 2.68 billion to provide critical humanitarian assistance as well as invest in Lebanon’s public infrastructure, services and local economy.