Minister of Interior Nuhad Al-Mashnouq received on Monday a phone call from House Speaker Nabih Berri, congratulating him on the role he had played in addressing the gas filling stations issue and the release of the nine-year-old Michel Ibrahim Saker.

On the other hand, the Interior Minister said in a statement today that the March 14 ministers taking part in the ministerial panel tasked with drafting the Cabinet's policy statement "were committed to the fact that resisting the Israeli enemy is a right, an obligation and a need, as long as it is not led by a certain sect or political party."

He noted that the state was the sole reference for all the Lebanese who insist on their right for resistance, slamming those considering this act as a personal right.

"We want the policy statement to be a first step towards a defense strategy that takes advantage of the resistance's capabilities and which gives the state the right to decide on war or peace," he said.