Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali said on Thursday that paying Lebanon’s share of funds for the U.N.-backed court probing the murder of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri is a Lebanese affair, praising any effort that fortifies Lebanon against the Israeli threats.

“Concerning the STL, it’s a Lebanese affair… We bless any effort that strengthens Lebanon and stabilizes it,” Ali added after a meeting with ex-PM Omar Karami.

The Free Patriotic Movement has given its consent to the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to avert the collapse of the government although it was not yet clear on Thursday if it agreed to the way the transfer was made.

“The citizens’ problems are more important than the funding of the tribunal,” Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, who is loyal to FPM chief Michel Aoun, said on Thursday.

The head of the Higher Relief Council denied on Thursday that the funds of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon were transferred from the budget of the HRC.

In remarks to al-Akhbar daily, Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Bashir said the payment of Lebanon’s share to the STL was not done through the Council.

Thousands of phone calls, text messages and tweets poured on Premier Najib Miqati upon his announcement that he had transferred funds to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a move which he hoped would receive the support of the Lebanese political leaderships.

“Some of the analyses that appeared today about my move are untrue and not accurate,” Miqati told his visitors on Thursday, reiterating that his approval of the transfer of funds was a “national decision stemming from his patriotic and personal convictions.”

Israeli Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said Wednesday that the Jewish state has the ability to hit targets deep inside Lebanon and Syria.

Israel has airpower and the intelligence ability “to hit launch sites everywhere -- from a range of a few kilometers in Gaza and Lebanon to a range of hundreds of kilometers deep in Lebanon and Syria," Vilnai said.

Canada's opposition decried Wednesday its federal police having a hand in the arrest in Lebanon of a Canadian potato farmer for allegedly selling "dangerous" spuds to Algeria.

Henk Tepper, 44, one of Canada's largest potato farmers, was arrested on an international warrant in March while on a trade mission organized by Canada's agriculture department.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly welcomed on Wednesday Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s announcement that he had transferred funds Lebanon is obligated to pay to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, said the U.S. Embassy in a statement.

She noted that Lebanon’s commitments to the tribunal extend beyond the issue of funding alone.

Britain and the European Union welcomed on Wednesday Lebanon’s announcement that it will uphold its duties to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

“The United Kingdom remains a strong supporter of the tribunal and of a stable, independent and peaceful Lebanon,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement after Premier Najib Miqati announced that Lebanon had paid its dues to the tribunal.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani congratulated on Wednesday Prime Minister Najib Miqati for funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

He told the premier in a telephone call: “The decision he made saved Lebanon and the Lebanese from severe disputes.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea praised on Wednesday Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, saying that Hizbullah and its allies can no longer claim that it is an American-Israeli product.

He said before reporters in Maarab: “If Hizbullah has any credibility, then it should recognize the tribunal.”