Protesters demanding the government to refer the wage scale for the public sector to parliament for approval held on Saturday a sit-in near the vehicle registration authority in the North Metn town of Dekwaneh, vowing a "comprehensive mobilization" next week.

The protest was organized by the Syndicate Coordination Committee, which is a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees.

The National Struggle Front and al-Mustaqbal bloc are the two major parties that have so far announced that they would boycott a parliamentary session if the Orthodox Gathering proposal was put on its agenda, An Nahar daily reported on Saturday.

The newspaper said that National Struggle Front chief and Druze leader Walid Jumblat and the members of his bloc would boycott the session if Speaker Nabih Berri invites the lawmakers for a General Assembly to vote on the proposal.

Speaker Nabih Berri said Saturday the rival parties still had time to reach consensus on an electoral draft-law but he slammed them for failing to agree on his hybrid proposal.

Both the March 8 majority and March 14 opposition alliances rejected the proposal, which combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems, he told al-Joumhouria newspaper.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea anticipated accusations of his party's approval of the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal during a future parliamentary session, saying no other serious consensus plans had been made.

“We haven't so far seen any serious move towards any consensus proposal 10 days after the approval of the Orthodox Gathering proposal by the joint parliamentary committees,” Geagea told An Nahar daily published on Saturday.

The abductors of the nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims held in the Syrian border town of Aazaz on Friday announced that they are willing to free the hostages in return for the release of all women detainees from the prisons of the Syrian regime.

“After several and repeated mediation efforts by international and humanitarian organizations and committees, we announce that we agree to free the nine Lebanese 'guests' in return for the release of all women detainees held in the prisons of Assad's gangs,” the so-called Northern Storm Brigade said on its Facebook page.

The Saudi embassy in Lebanon called on its citizens on Friday to take precautions in the country.

"We urge Saudi citizens in Lebanon to limit their movements and to communicate with the embassy when necessary,” it said.

Israel's armed forces chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz ruled out on Friday reports saying that Hizbullah possesses chemical weapons, warning the party and Syria that the Israeli army is fully ready to face any emergency in the region.

"Israel will respond to any development that might shake the security balance in the region,” Benny stated during a meeting with high school students in Israel.

Several roads were blocked on Friday in the northern city of Tripoli in protest at a dispute that erupted between army troops and the bodyguards of Salafist cleric Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal in the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar.

“An army patrol arrested one of al-Shahhal's bodyguards for carrying a visible weapon in Majdal Anjar,” OTV quoted a military source as saying.

An Israeli force has advanced on Friday towards al-Wazzani border region without crossing the technical fence and the Blue Line, the National News Agency reported.

"Fourteen members and three armored vehicles advanced towards the east bank of the river,” the NNA elaborated.

The army has arrested an Egyptian man on charges of selling mobile phone lines without requesting legal identification documents from the buyers, including from one of the abductors of the child Mohammed Nibal Awada who was abducted last week.

“As part of the efforts exerted by the intelligence directorate to combat the wave of kidnappings, and after expanding the investigations into the abduction of the child Mohammed Nibal Awada, a patrol from the directorate arrested Egyptian national Mohammed Sayyed Zaki Sayyed al-Fidawi on Feb. 27,” an army statement said.