Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Sunday lashed out at Arab Democratic Party leader Rifaat Eid and Tripoli's politicians over the recurrent clashes in the northern city, noting that Hizbullah did not achieve a victory in Syria with Yabrud's capture.

“Everyone is in a dilemma in Tripoli ... I advise Rifaat Eid not to be reckless,” Jumblat said during an interview on al-Jadeed television.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat criticized on Monday the lengthy debates and discussions that preceded the drafting of the government policy statement and their impact on the daily lives of the people.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “Life has burdened the Lebanese people to suffer the ministerial sophistic debates linked to the policy statement.”

The cabinet is not likely to reach a deal on the controversial resistance clause of the policy statement before a rally organized by the March 14 alliance on Friday afternoon, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said.

In remarks carried by al-Akhbar daily, Jumblat did not expect a deal on the clause although Prime Minister Tammam Salam was eager for the cabinet to meet before the rally to avoid a further deterioration in the row between the March 8 and 14 alliances.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said a proposal made by him could salvage the government, hoping that Premier Tammam Salam would not resign before Monday.

In remarks to As Safir daily published on Friday, Berri said: “If there were good intentions and readiness to reach a settlement, then this proposal should be accepted by the March 14” camp.

The cabinet on Thursday adjourned its discussions until Friday after the parties failed to reach an agreement over the policy statement following a six-hour meeting at the Baabda Palace and intensive consultations inside and outside the session.

Bilateral meetings between ministers were held on the sidelines of the session in a bid to reach a consensual formula for the policy statement and prevent a looming resignation by Prime Minister Tammam Salam.

Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat have decided to wait for a rally organized by the March 14 alliance on Friday to make their proposal to resolve the policy statement deadlock, media reports said.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam called for a cabinet meeting on Thursday to take an “appropriate decision” on the dispute between March 14 and the Hizbullah-led March 8 camp over the resistance clause after a seven-member committee failed in its tenth meeting to resolve the row.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat praised on Monday the release of the Maalula nuns, hoping that security agencies will put an end to abductions in Lebanon.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “All security agencies should be on alert to end the phenomenon of kidnappings in Lebanon.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has reiterated that he would facilitate the adoption of the government's policy statement if the March 14 alliance showed some leniency amid a lack of optimism on the ability of a seven-member committee to reach a deal on the blueprint on Friday despite efforts to find a compromise on the controversial issue of the resistance.

“There is so far nothing tangible,” several officials, who visited Berri on Thursday, quoted him as saying.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq's remarks from Rabieh caused a stir among the March 14 allies over the rapprochement between the al-Mustaqbal movement and the Free Patriotic Movement, local newspapers reported on Friday.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and leaders affiliated in the March 14 coalition expressed ire over Mashnouq's statement, prompting al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri to contact Geagea to explain the matter.

High-level contacts between the rival March 8 and 14 alliances failed to end the deadlock on the government's policy statement as both sides accused each other of not making enough concessions, local dailies reported Wednesday.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper said that top officials from both camps tried on Tuesday in vain to find an exit to the impasse, which lies on the resistance clause.