The staff of the U.S. Treasury Department, which is in charge of following up on the financial activities of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s family and entourage, believe that they are getting closer to unveiling a link between Assad’s financial interests and Premier Najib Miqati and his brother Taha, who is also a businessman.

According to a U.S. report to be published Friday by the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai, the set of sanctions recently imposed on Syriatel -- Syria’s largest mobile phone operator owned by Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf -- were supposed to be expanded to include either Miqati or his brother Taha for their role in establishing the Syrian firm and introducing the cellphone technology to the Syrian market more than a decade ago.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas inaugurated Wednesday the Palestinian embassy in Lebanon and hoisted the Palestinian flag atop its building, after the Lebanese cabinet officially recognized the state of Palestine and approved to raise the level of diplomatic representation with it.

Flanked by Prime Minister Najib Miqati, the Palestinian leader also unveiled a plaque commemorating the event.

The government faces the biggest test ever of bridging the gap among its different members this week after a dispute erupted over a draft law aimed at granting Energy Minister Jebran Bassil $1.2 billion to build plants to produce 700 Megawatts of electricity.

The cabinet meets at President Michel Suleiman’s summer residence in Beiteddine on Thursday amid threats by MP Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement to withdraw its ministers from the government over accusations that Premier Najib Miqati contributed to blocking the draft law proposed by Aoun in parliament.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to head to Beirut next week to meet with top Lebanese officials, As Safir newspaper reported on Friday.

“Abbas will visit Lebanon on Aug. 16 and 17,” Palestinian sources told the daily.

The cabinet session that is expected to be held on Thursday will be a standard meeting, as it is expected to be brief and followed by the Iftar held by President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace.

A governmental source told al-Liwaa newspaper on Wednesday that the appointments in public institutions will not be on the cabinet’s agenda anytime soon.

Syria’s banned Muslim Brotherhood on Friday lashed out at Prime Minister Najib Miqati, accusing him of “siding with the killers of Syrian children.”

In a statement published by the Italian news agency AKI, the Brotherhood’s official spokesman Zuheir Salem said “the Syrian people would never compromise, no matter the sacrifices, the blood of our brothers in Lebanon, whether in Tripoli, Beirut, Sidon … or anywhere in Lebanon.”

The cabinet will hold on Tuesday a meeting tackling a number of critical issues, some topics are linked to the escalating developments in the south and the demarcation of the maritime borders of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

Al-Liwaa newspaper reported that the Economic and Agriculture Ministers will discuss the prices issue and the difficulty of finding markets for the agricultural products.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati urged on Monday officials to cooperate in order to strengthen unity and save the country, the National News Agency reported.

“I call on all political leaderships to adopt a balanced rhetoric to lay the appropriate foundation for dialogue,” he said after meeting with Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani.

The government is planning to bring back to the discussion table the issue of false witnesses which was a source of major controversy between pro and anti- cabinet forces during the tenure of former Premier Saad Hariri.

An Nahar newspaper said Tuesday that Prime Minister Najib Miqati discussed the issue with Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi on the sidelines of the government session held at the Grand Serail a day earlier.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati received on Monday a cable from his French counterpart Francois Fillon in which he stressed France’s “absolute support” to the Lebanese government in confronting internal, regional, and international challenges.

He added that Lebanon should respect its international commitments and United Nations resolutions.