Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan praised on Saturday Speaker Nabih Berri's efforts to resolve the sharp differences between the rival parties over the new electoral law, describing him as the country's “safety valve.”

“Despite the differences among the Lebanese, Berri is an important national guarantee that all sides should gather around to overcome the delicate stage with minimum losses,” Arslan said after holding talks with Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

Hundreds of protesters staged a sit-in Saturday in the Masnaa-Bar Elias area in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley, the main road linking Beirut to Damascus, blocking the passage of fuel tankers to war-torn Syria.

The demonstration, organized by the Association of Muslim Scholars, was staged in the eastern Bekaa Valley to stem fuel supplies intended for forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati slammed on Saturday the Orthodox Gathering electoral draft law, stressing that the proposal will not be adopted as it violates the “essence of Lebanon's existence and mutual coexistence.”

“We must achieve real representation for all Lebanese sects through reaching an agreement on an electoral law that does not harm coexistence,” Miqati said via twitter.

The Syndicate Coordination Committee set on Saturday a plan highlighting its measures for the second week of its open-ended strike to protest the cabinet's procrastination over the new wage scale for public sector.

The SCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, vowed to go ahead with its open-ended strike until the government refers urgently the new scale to the parliament.

The Lebanese army raided the border town of Britel in Bekaa on Saturday on the backdrop of an armed dispute between two families, said the state-run National News Agency.

A family row that led to gunfire between the Ismail and Murad families caused some damage in one of the town's cafes, NNA added.

Hackers hacked on Saturday the website of the Lebanese parliament.

The hackers, identifying themselves as “Team Kuwait Hackers,” placed Bilal bin Rabbah Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir's photo on the website.

President Michel Suleiman is committed to the government's electoral draft law, reported the daily An Nahar Saturday.

Sources close to the president revealed however that he is open to amendments to it in a hope that it would become accepted by all political powers.

Cabinet is expected to tackle during its upcoming session an amendment to the parliamentary electoral law proposed by the Mustaqbal bloc, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

The proposal was referred by Speaker Nabih Berri to the government and it has been signed by MPs Ahmed Fatfat, Ghazi Youssef, Atef Majdalani, and Jean Oghassabian.

Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated his adherence to the hybrid draft-law that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems that has been proposed by MP Ali Bazzi from his Liberation and Development bloc, al-Joumhouria daily said Saturday.

“The hybrid draft-law that I have suggested is the best law. It does not allow anyone to win against another, its a triumph for the country and everyone,” the daily quoted Berri as saying.

A security apparatus has completed a report on the kidnappings in Lebanon, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

It said that the apparatus determined that 37 individuals are part of the various abduction gangs in the country.