The Syrian uprising has split Lebanon into supporters and opponents of the Assad regime, with each side betting on its most favorable outcome. At Martyr's Square in downtown Beirut, home to the Cedar Revolution that ended the Syrian occupation of Lebanon six years ago, Lebanese groups came together in solidarity with the Syrian people.
Tensions between Lebanon's two political camps have peaked since the release of the Special Tribunal indictments, leading to clashes in Beirut and a major security violation in the South.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman's call for dialogue this week fell on deaf ears, as the two major political coalitions, March 8 and March 14, refused to come together for talks.
The Syrian regime is struggling to contain the ongoing protests in various towns across the country, but none are as challenging to it as Hama, a city of almost a million people that is now out of government control.
As Palestinian refugees and Syrians marched towards the Israeli border at the Golan Heights, marking the 1967 Naksa Day, the Lebanese border nearby witnessed an odd calm. Commemorating the 1948 Nakba Day last month, Palestinian refugees walking peacefully towards the border were shot by Israeli soldiers.
The tides may be turning against the Syrian regime as it starts to lose its friends, both regionally and internationally. As the Syrian revolution enters its third month, with the death toll surpassing 1,000, observers are starting to cast doubt on the survival of the regime.
The Syrian government has intensified in recent days its brutal crackdown on the protesters calling for regime change, most notably in the town of Talkalakh near the Lebanese border.
The death toll in Syria's uprising has risen to 750 civilians since the protests began in March. According to human rights groups, around 10,000 Syrians have been arrested -- nearly all of them are still in detention.
"If there is no stability here [in Syria], there's no way there will be stability in Israel", Rami Makhlouf, President Assad's cousin, the regime's businessman and a lightning rod for Syrian protestors, told the New York Times this week. He did not try to embellish or deny this seeming threat.
