BEIRUT: Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora's Cabinet distanced itself from Hizbullah's cross-border attack against Israel and said the Lebanese government does not condone it. "The government was not aware of and does not take responsibility for, nor endorses what happened on the international border," Siniora said after an emergency Cabinet meeting.
Siniora, however, condemned Israeli "aggressive" retaliation and said his government would call for a UN Security Council meeting.
He said Lebanon's government, which is dominated by anti-Syrian factions but also contains two Hizbullah ministers, was willing to mediate a solution to the crisis and urged the Security Council to intervene.
"We opposed the phrase that said the government does not condone the operation," said Labor Minister Tarrad Hamade, who is close to Hizbullah.
Aridi said the ministers will convene emergency sessions at any time to follow up on the latest developments in the South.
The minister urged "all Lebanese to remain united to overcome the dangers that are threatening the country."
Aridi also said the government asked Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh to recall Beirut's ambassador to Washington, Farid Abboud, for expressing an opinion that "conflicted with government policy"
Abboud reportedly said the Lebanese government supports Hizbullah's actions, a statement that angered the US and prompted it to ask the Lebanese government for clarification.
However, Lebanon's political leaders were divided over Hizbullah's actions on Wednesday,
with some praising the "heroic" resistance and others condemning them for acting unilaterally.
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In an unusual show of support for the government, the Free Patriotic Movement said it would back any decision made by the Cabinet. A spokesperson for the party told The Daily Star that MP Michel Aoun had spoken with Siniora by telephone and "voiced his full support for the Cabinet's decisions."
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea described Hizbullah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers in an early morning cross-border raid as "dangerous" and called for "the Cabinet to be the only institution to make the country's critical decisions from now on."
"Only when decisions are made within Cabinet or Parliament can these be regarded as the choice of the Lebanese people," Geagea said in an interview with LBCI television.
"We have dozens of detainees in Syrian jails," Geagea added. Why don't we carry out a similar action against Syria?"
Future Movement MP Nabil De Freij said he feared that Hizbullah's actions would impact negatively on the country's economy and tense internal politics.
"Every time we witness some economic development, tension rises in the South of Lebanon," De Freij said.
According to De Freij, MP Saad Hariri, the leader of the parliamentary majority, was "making calls" to calm the situation from Beijing, where he is meeting with Chinese officials.
Former President Amin Gemayel said Lebanon had been put in a "very critical situation" that could lead to "a dangerous confrontation between Lebanon and Israel as the result of one party's decision and not a national consensus." - Additional reporting by Nada Bakri
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