The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, and the President of the Caretaker Government, Saad Hariri, called, in a joint statement, the Lebanese people to be aware, vigilant, and not to be drawn into discord.
This came in a statement issued by them, after Hariri visited Berri at his headquarters in Ain Al-Tineh region (west of the capital Beirut), as part of consultations to find a way out of the crisis of forming a new government.
Al-Hariri and Berri said - in the statement - that "the national need has become more than urgent to speed up the formation of the government, and the necessity of approaching this entitlement in a calm atmosphere, away from political tension, in which the national interest precedes those other than its personal interests."
Under the weight of ongoing protests since October 17, Hariri was forced on 29 of that month to resign his government, and among the forces involved was the Amal movement led by Berri, and its ally Hezbollah.
For the second time, the Lebanese presidency postponed binding parliamentary consultations to nominate a new prime minister until next Thursday, after it was scheduled for Monday, to give time for more consultations, in light of differences between political forces.
Al-Hariri's name returned to the forefront of consulting, after he had previously apologized for not running for government formation, in light of his insistence on forming a government of technocrats (independent experts), in response to the protesters' request.
Meanwhile, calm has returned to the center of Beirut after last night's confrontations between young people opposed to the popular movement from the "dark trench" area and the security forces.
Lebanese cities - including Beirut and Saida - witnessed Monday evening clashes between security forces and supporters of Hezbollah and Amal, after a video clip of a Lebanese lawyer residing in Greece, insulting Shiite political leaders and religious shrines.
The protesters are demanding a government of technocrats capable of tackling the political and economic situation, in a country experiencing the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
While Lebanese parties - including President Michel Aoun, the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah, and the Amal Movement - want to form a technocratic political government of specialists and politicians.
The protesters are also calling for early parliamentary elections, the recovery of looted funds, and the departure and accountability of the rest of the ruling class, who accuse them of political financial corruption and lack of competence.