Prior to the session, Information Minister Ramzi Jreij clarified that no one can appoint an alternate Justice Minister for Ashraf Rifi, seemingly since solely the president of the republic is entitled to do so.
As for Saudi Arabia’s decision to halt grants to the Lebanese army, Economy Minister Alain Hakim asked, “Why should we apologize when we did nothing wrong?”
“Enough panicking over the Gulf measures,” he added.
For his part, Hezbollah's Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Fneish said, "We committed no wrong in order for us to apologize."
“Will an apology get Saudi Arabia out of its trouble with Yemen?” Fneish asked.
In turn, Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan expressed surprise over the Saudi measures.
"I don't understand this great equation: we either apologize or we must bear a collective punishment."