British Foreign Secretary William Hague voiced concern over possible conflict between Israel and Hizbullah following last month's collapse of the Lebanese government.

"The scale of any military conflict that may happen between Israel and Hizbullah is growing, because of the growth of armaments in the area," Hague told the London Times in comments published Wednesday.

Israeli deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom warned on Tuesday that Hizbullah was consolidating its military capabilities in contravention with U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

He told the Herzliya Conference on “The Balance of Israel’s National Strength and Security" that Lebanon is the only country where a party has representatives in parliament and at the same time military capabilities.

Electricite du Liban announced on Tuesday that most Lebanese regions were experiencing power shortages because Jordan’s electricity system was badly affected by a stop in Egyptian supply of gas through the “Arab line.”

EDL said that Jordan unexpectedly separated the Jordanian-Syrian line that provides Lebanon and Syria with electricity from Egypt, EDL said in a statement.

Around 1,000 protesters gathered on Friday outside the Jordanian prime minister's office to demand reforms, before staging a sit-in near Cairo's embassy in support of anti-regime protests in Egypt.

The demonstrators, answering calls by the powerful Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the country's Muslim Brotherhood, chanted: "The people demand reform and change."

Thousands of Jordanians demonstrated peacefully in Amman and other cities after weekly prayers on Friday to press for political and economic reform, and demanding that the government resign.

"Egypt, the Arab nation salutes you. We urge your men to get rid of (President Hosni) Mubarak," an estimated 3,000 people chanted as they marched in Amman city center holding national flags.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Lebanese rather than foreigners should decide the country's future.

The United States has warned of effects on bilateral relations after billionaire businessman Najib Miqati was named premier-designate with the support of Hizbullah and its allies.

Jordan's security services said Thursday they have arrested 51 people linked to southern rioting this week sparked by the murder of two men in a labor dispute.

"Fifty-one suspects were arrested on Wednesday night, but the murderer of two Jordanians is still at large," a security official told Agence France Presse.