The luncheon banquet that was hosted by Speaker Nabih Berri in honor of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in the southern town of Msayleh on Monday was shunned by former Premier Fouad Saniora and MP Bahia Hariri, thus raising speculation about the consequences of al-Rahi’s visit to the south.

Sources close to Saniora told An Nahar newspaper on Tuesday that the reason behind the MP’s boycott to the banquet was because al-Rahi refused to accept an invitation over lunch at the Hariri’s house in Majdelyoun but accepted Berri’s invitation.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Monday that the wars that have taken place in Lebanon have been part of a “great settlement” aimed at harming the Palestinian independent decisions and usurping Lebanon’s national will.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “A critical revision of the Lebanese civil war is necessary, as is a deep examination of the real reasons why Palestinian armed groups were involved in it.”

A tense atmosphere from a meeting of joint parliamentary committees on the electricity project spilled into the cabinet on Wednesday amid reported verbal clashes between Change and Reform bloc ministers on one side and Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil.

Media reports said that during a government session held at the Grand Serail an argument erupted between Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas and Khalil, who is Speaker Nabih Berri’s aide, after the Change and Reform bloc minister described a decision reached at the committees meeting as “dissent.”

The opposition March 14 forces said Premier Najib Miqati will face a “scandal” if the amendments proposed by their lawmakers to the electricity draft law were not approved.

High-ranking March 14 sources told An Nahar daily on Wednesday that the opposition is adamant to introduce the amendments to the bill to be in harmony with the original draft law that was approved by Miqati’s cabinet on Sept. 7.

The March 8 forces are working head over heels to guarantee a quorum of 65 MPs in a parliamentary session set to discuss the electricity project on Thursday, An Nahar daily reported.

The newspaper said that the opposition lawmakers are mulling to withdraw from the session to prevent the necessary quorum as an objection to the failure to approve the amendments that they are calling for to guarantee greater transparency in the implementation of the $1.2 billion plan.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat held a series of meetings in Paris with a number of French officials on the situation in Lebanon and the region, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

His held talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s diplomatic advisor, Jean-David Levitte, his advisor for Middle East affairs, Nicolas Gallet, and ambassador Patrice Paoli.

National Struggle Front parliamentary bloc leader MP Walid Jumblat is reportedly seeking to normalize ties with the Democratic Gathering bloc to confront the new electoral law that is based on proportional representation.

Al-Liwaa daily said Saturday that Social Affairs Ministers Wael Abou Faour, who is loyal to Jumblat, made a speech on Friday during an event organized by the lawmakers of the Progressive Socialist Party.

Amal movement minister Ali Hassan Khalil has unveiled that the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon remains a point of contention with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.

He confirmed reports that Amal and Hizbullah haven’t been able to reach an understanding with Jumblat on the funding of the court.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat received a verbal message from Syrian President Bashar Assad informing him that Damascus has decided to freeze relations with the MP for the time being, al-Liwaa newspaper reported.

Last week, Assad criticized Jumblat’s statements in which he advised former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to follow his example and refrain from getting involved in developments in Syria, informed sources told the daily.

The Progressive Socialist Party is shrugging off reports and rumors about deterioration in the relations between PSP chief Walid Jumblat and Hizbullah over his remarks on the Shiite party’s weapons.

Ministers Ghazi Aridi and Wael Abou Faour, who are loyal to Jumblat, stressed before a cabinet session held on Wednesday that ties between the Druze chief and Hizbullah officials are “good,” An Nahar daily reported.