Beirut- Lebanon's Sunni Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani has urged pro- and anti-government political leaders to resume dialogue, reiterating that toppling Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet was not allowed.

"The government will not fall and so will not a prime minister (Siniora) who courageously and faithfully confronted an international power (Israel) for the sake of safeguarding Lebanon's independence and self esteem," Qabbani told worshipers in Friday's prayers.

He was referring to the 34-day summer war Israel launched on Hezbollah after the Shiite group kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid July 12, sparking the destructive offensive.

"The only way to get things restored is to go back to dialogue and consultations," Qabbani added.

Earlier , Qabbani has criticized the sit-in protests in down town Beirut saying "Lebanon is not Georgia". He also criticized the protesters behavior saying "in Georgia the protesters didn’t smoke water pipes and watch satellite TV" , in reference to the much publicized Nargila smoking by the protesters and watching of X rated programs on satellite TV. He said this protest is a "joke and is no longer taken seriously".

Source: Naharnet, LBC, Ya Libnan