LEBANON - Nov 11 - Hizbullah Ministers Quit Lebanon's Cabinet.

Lebanon's political crisis deepens with the resignation from the cabinet of all five Shi'ite ministers from the pro-Syrian Hizbullah movement and its allies as unity talks collapsed. Hizbullah repeated its threat to stage "peaceful" demonstrations to back up its demand for a decisive say in the government of PM Fouad Siniora or else to force new elections. The anti-Syrian majority that controls the government and Parliament has vowed that the cabinet will meet on Nov 13 as planned to approve a UN draft for an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri, who was killed in a massive bomb blast along with more than 20 others in February last year. The country's pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, said that the resignation of the Shi'ite ministers renders any new cabinet decision "anti-constitutional". But the anti-Syrian majority, as well as constitutional experts, has denied this. Anti-Syrian politicians accused Hizbullah and its allies of forcing the crisis to block Lebanese approval of the international tribunal. The UN last week sent a draft of the framework for such a tribunal to the government after the permanent members of the Security Council reached a consensus. The Shi'ite ministers last year suspended their participation in the cabinet for several weeks over the issue of the tribunal. Hizbullah's deputy leader, Shaikh Naim Kassem, said that the crisis "has nothing to do" with the international tribunal. He accused the anti-Syrian majority of using the issue to obscure their responsibility for the failure of the political talks and said Hizbullah would stage peaceful street protests to back up its demands but it was not clear yet when these would start. Anti-Syrian politicians have expressed fears that Hizbullah's protests will turn violent. They have vowed counter-demonstrations by their own supporters. Several leading politicians will be out of the country until the middle of the week and there is a feeling that the demonstrations or renewed talks will only take place after they return. Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said last month that he is demanding more of a say in the government for himself and his allies in order to stop the anti-Syrian majority from giving in to the "American-Israeli demand" to disarm the movement. Hizbullah feels under pressure because of the presence of the beefed-up UNIFIL international military presence in its heartland in the south of the country following this summer's war with Israel. Hizbullah wants to bring its main Christian ally, former General Michel Aoun, and his bloc, into the government. The movement has demanded a share of one-third-plus-one of the cabinet seats for itself and its allies, which would give it veto power over the most important decisions. The anti-Syrian majority has said that it may consider bringing Gen Aoun into the government but it refuses to grant its opponents veto power. Both the president and the powerful speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri of the Shi'ite Amal movement, are pro-Syrian. If the pro-Syrians were to get veto power in the cabinet, the results of last year's elections in which the anti-Syrian coalition triumphed, would be neutralised.