BEIRUT, Lebanon -Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri said the Lebanon blast on Tuesday was a "criminal act ... aimed at preventing the Lebanese from turning a new page".

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said the Shiite opposition party "condemns any such attack on Lebanese territory, regardless of who is targeted."

Amal, the party headed by opposition leader and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, said "the attack was aimed at torpedoeing Arab League efforts to resolve the presidential crisis."

Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said the best answer to such "terrorist" attacks, which "aim to destabilise the country’s security and stability," would be to "adopt the Arab League plan."

That initiative is based on a three-point plan that calls for the election of army chief General Michel Sleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government in which no one party has veto power and the adoption of a new electoral law.

Although the ruling coalition has given the plan its full backing, Hezbollah is insisting the opposition be granted a third of the seats in a new government so as to have a veto over key decisions.-Agencies