BEIRUT: Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned Monday that Syria was threatened with “dangers,” voicing support for an Arab League peace plan to end the 10-month unrest there.Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri criticized the Arab League for failing to seek U.N. assistance to resolve the crisis in Syria.

Referring to a massive popular upheaval in Syria demanding the ouster of President Bashar Assad, Berri said: “The situation in Syria is different from that in other [Arab] states. There are dangers threatening Syria. There is an interest in the success of the Arab initiative despite its shortcomings.”

Although the Arab League initiative calls for an end to Syria’s violent crackdown on protesters, the withdrawal of the Syrian army from restive cities, the release of political prisoners and the granting of access to Arab observers and international media, the violence has continued unabated, claiming more lives from both protesters and Syrian troops every day.

Speaking during a meeting with members of the Press Federation headed by Federation chairman Mohammad Baalbaki, Berri called for Lebanon to steer clear of the wave of popular uprisings currently roiling the Arab world. The uprisings have so far led to the overthrow of the leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

“It is important for Lebanon to dissociate itself from what is happening in order to be spared the repercussions of [Arab Spring] developments,” he said.

Berri described the situation in the region as “alarming.” He expressed fears that the rise of new regimes in some Arab countries was intended to grant “some freedoms but without threatening Israel and its security.”

“In this case, [these countries] will be moving from one prison to another,” Berri said.

On the divisive issue of political confessionalism, Berri said the abrogation of the country’s sectarian political system was no longer a Lebanese demand. “It has become an Arab demand because Arabism is in danger,” he added.

Hariri, who has stated that the Assad regime should be brought down, said the Arab League should have sought U.N. help on the crisis in Syria. “It is unfortunate that the killing continues [in Syria] and the Arab League should have raised the issue with the United Nations,” Hariri tweeted Monday morning in response to a question about his opinion on the recent report by the Arab League observers.

“I think it’s sad that the [Arab League] is falling into this trap, but I am confident that [the] Syrian people will be free,” Hariri said on the micro-blogging website.

At a meeting in Cairo Sunday, an Arab ministerial committee gave its widely criticized observer mission to Syria the green light to carry on and vowed to boost the number of monitors. The committee’s decision came amid growing calls by Syrian opposition groups and protesters for the Arab League to cede to the U.N. the lead role in trying to end the bloodshed in Syria.

A team of Arab League monitors has been in Syria since Dec.26 trying to assess whether the Assad regime is complying with a peace accord aimed at ending its deadly crackdown on dissent.

The United Nations estimates that over 5,000 Syrians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the crackdown by Damascus against anti-government protests since mid-March 2011.

Hariri also praised the Syrian people for standing up againsta brutal crackdown. “I have never seen such bravery like the Syrian people, standing in front [of] tanks and being shot at by criminals,” said Hariri, head of the Future Movement which is leading the opposition March 14 coalition.

Hariri, who has been living abroad since last April following the toppling of his government by the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance a year ago, said he would be returning to the country despite any potential risks. “I am coming back to Lebanon, it’s always a risk but I am willing to take it,” he added, without setting a final date for his return.

Meanwhile, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt reiterated his position on the need for a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

Commenting on the Arab League’s meeting, Jumblatt said in an article to be published in the PSP’s weekly newspaper Al-Anbaa Tuesday: “With regard to the Syrian crisis, the final statement issued by the Arab ministerial committee and the attitudes announced after it have confirmed our previous position that the people’s movement does not go backward and will not go backward.”

“What is more important than being distracted by details and security matters is the stress on a fundamental political solution adopted by the Arab League,” Jumblatt said. He praised Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby for doing “an important job and serious efforts to try to solve the deteriorating crisis over which regional and international axes are fighting.”

Jumblatt said he hoped the Syrian crisis would end as soon as possible so that “a new free, democratic and diversified Syria” could emerge.

Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed, head of Hezbollah’s Political Council, warned against taking the movement of Arab upheavals away from the confrontation with the Israeli enemy. “This is a very dangerous tendency because it means freezing the struggle with the main [Israeli] enemy,” Sayyed told a rally in the Bekaa town of Nabi Ayla. “The criterion in judging the Arab revolutions, renaissance or uprisings is: Will they be part of the project to liberate Palestine or not?”