Hizbullah, PSP Agree on Unity Cabinet, 'Organizing Differences' on Syria

Hizbullah and Progressive Socialist Party officials have agreed on the need to speed up the formation of a national unity cabinet and pushed for a deal to keep the differences on the Syrian crisis away from the streets, sources said Thursday.

The sources told As Safir daily that a meeting was held on Wednesday night at the residence of Hizbullah Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan between PSP officials and the party's representatives.

The PSP delegation included Ministers Ghazi Aridi, Wael Abou Faour and Alaeddine Terro, MP Akram Shhayyeb and the party's Secretary-General Zafer Nasser.

The Hizbullah officials who attended the meeting at al-Hajj Hassan's home were Minister Mohammed Fneish, MP Hassan Fadlallah and Wafiq Safa.

Sources told As Safir that the officials tackled the need to speed up the formation of an all-embracing government, to keep security and protect the army as an institution that guarantees stability.

The conferees reiterated the need for “an agreement on reorganizing the differences on the Syrian crisis,” the sources told As Safir.

Such a deal would keep Lebanon away from the internal dispute on how to approach the Syrian war and would prevent officials from taking their differences to the streets, they said.

In recent months, violence linked to the Syrian crisis has become more recurrent and geographically widespread, extending to predominantly Shiite neighborhoods where Hizbullah has a strong presence.

Clashes between pro- and anti-Assad groups in Lebanon have left scores of people dead in recent months, and the violence has escalated as Hizbullah's role fighting alongside the Syrian regime has become public. The group was instrumental in helping secure a regime victory in the strategic town of al-Qusayr near the border with Lebanon last month.