Israel's recently retired spy chief, Meir Dagan, has said that the Jewish state would be better off if Syrian President Bashar Assad was toppled because “this will stop help to Hizbullah,” Israeli media reported Sunday.

Dagan also told a weekend conference that Assad’s fall would strengthen the Sunni camp in Syria and in the Arab world in general. “These things will be good for Israel strategically.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has called for the consolidation of the military institution, saying Lebanon would not exist without the unity of the nation and the army.

“There is no Lebanon without the unity of the country and the military institution,” Jumblat told a delegation headed by retired Maj. Gen. Shawki al-Masri that visited him in Mukhtara on Saturday.

Estonia has pressured the European Union to hold off sanctioning Syrian President Bashar Assad “to protect” seven Estonian tourists who were kidnapped in eastern Lebanon in March, An Nahar daily reported Sunday.

The newspaper said that Estonia pressured its European partners over fears on the safety of the seven men who were last seen on March 23, when they went missing in the Bekaa Valley after entering Lebanon from Syria on a cycling trip.

Former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora demanded on Friday that the United States maintain its support to the Lebanese army by continuing on providing it with proper equipment.

He made his statements before a number of American officials at the end of his trip to the U.S.

Speaker Nabih Berri’s adviser MP Ali Hassan Khalil said on Saturday that people’s trust in a state capable of tackling their interests should be restored.

“We demand the formation of a real salvation government… capable of holding national dialogue and setting a political agenda that reconnects the diverse national elements,” he added.

Lebanon may be faced with a number of challenges in the government formation process given the unrest in Syria, reported the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper.

Widely informed sources said that Hizbullah and Syrian want the formation of a government that belongs to the pre-Arab revolts era, which is being faced with opposition in some sides in Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities have adopted strict measures in the Bekaa region in order to confront the possible smuggling of weapons to Syria, reported the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper on Saturday.

Concerned security sources said that owners of arms stores in the Bekaa have received direct orders from the intelligence directorate in the Lebanese army against selling arms to any individual without checking that they are Lebanese.

Syrian troops backed by tanks swept early Saturday into Banias, a hub of anti-regime protests, as residents formed human chains in a bid to halt the military operation, rights activists said.

Electricity and communications were cut as the tanks entered along three axes heading towards the southern sector of the city on the Mediterranean coast, the bastion of the protesters.

The United States warned Friday it would take "additional steps" against Syria if it continues a brutal crackdown on protesters, a week after imposing tough sanctions on the Arab nation.

"The United States believes that Syria's deplorable actions toward its people warrant a strong international response," the White House said in one of its strongest statements yet since the outbreak of unrest there.

Syria's security forces shot dead 30 people Friday, a Syrian human rights activist told the AP, as thousands rallied on a "Day of Defiance" against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad after tanks converged on protest centers.

At the same time, "armed criminal gangs" killed one officer and four policemen, state news agency SANA said.