The Lebanese Forces stated on Wednesday that the WikiLeaks cable released by Al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday confirmed that the party does not possess weapons.

The cable claimed that LF leader Samir Geagea had informed former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison that the party has 10,000 trained fighters ready to combat Hizbullah.

The March 14 General Secretariat commended on Wednesday the security forces’ efforts in confronting the recent security incidents in Lebanon, noting that the instability “justifies the March 14 demand to end the possession of arms outside the state’s authority.”

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Besides being a threat to stability, the security incidents are political messages from internal and external sides once again aimed at using Lebanon as a vessel to deliver political messages.”

MP Marwan Hamadeh stressed the importance of money in confronting Hizbullah’s growing influence in Lebanon, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday.

The August 2006 WikiLeaks cable spoke of a meeting between Hamadeh, then MP Nayla Mouawad, and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman during which they hoped that the American administration would pressure Arab gulf states to transfer political funds to the March 14 camp to confront Hizbullah.

The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday urged politicians to cooperate and speed up the formation of a government that is capable of dealing with the demands of citizens.

Following their monthly meeting at Bkirki, the bishops stressed the need “to speed up the formation of a new cabinet capable of taking responsibility and dealing with the affairs of the nation and citizens.”

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday revealed that then Prime Minister Fouad Saniora had rejected a transfer of 500 and 300 million dollars to Lebanon aimed at rebuilding the country after the July 2006 war.

The WikiLeaks cable spoke of a meeting between Saniora and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman on August 18, 2006, during which the former explained that he rejected the aid money from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait “because he didn’t want the money to go to Speaker Nabih Berri’s pocket.”

A final agreement on the cabinet lineup awaits a meeting between Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, a March 8 source said despite reports that Aoun continued to hold onto his demand for 11 cabinet ministers, including the interior ministry portfolio.

“The meeting between Sayyed Nasrallah and General Aoun hopefully will pave the way for the formation of a government,” the source told The Daily Star in remarks published Wednesday.

An Israeli official had requested in 2008 that the United States directly support the March 14 camp instead of the Lebanese state out of fears that Hizbullah may take over the cabinet, said a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday.

Nimrod Barkan, then head of Israel’s Foreign Ministry Center for Policy Research, made his statements during a meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman in Israel.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed in a number of leaked U.S. Embassy cables from 2006 and 2009 published exclusively in Al-Akhbar on Wednesday Lebanon’s need for funds after the July 2006 war.

A July 11, 2006, cable spoke of meeting between the MP and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman during which he told him about his July 7 visit to Saudi Arabia which he said was aimed at convincing newly crowned Saudi King Abdullah to finance the March 14 camp.

The Movement for Renewal and Reform that had allegedly claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the seven Estonian tourists is now asking for ransom to set the men free.

The demand was made through an email sent to a local website. It said the tourists were in good condition.

The first Middle East Airlines plane carrying Lebanese who have escaped the violence in Ivory Coast arrived at Beirut airport on Wednesday.

The National News Agency said around 136 Abidjan residents flew to Beirut from Ghana. They were transported by French authorities from the Ivory Coast to Mali and then to Ghana, it said.