Dubai: With hundreds of thousands of demonstrators convening on Martyr's Square in the centre of the Lebanese capital for the fourth straight day, views on the political crisis crippling the country remain divided.
The demonstrators - who include supporters of Hezbollah, as well as those of prominent Christian leader Michel Aoun, and some Druze - are calling on the current Western-backed government to step down after refusing to make way for a new government that would potentially give increased power to the opposition.
Dubai-based businessman Sa'ad Al Zein, who identifies himself as a southern Lebanese, says that while he is concerned about the emerging situation, he is convinced that his country will not descend into another civil war.
"The issue is not about taking sides with one party or another ... it's about taking sides with Lebanon," he told Gulf News. "I am not with any one party, I am with Lebanon," he said, adding that it was nevertheless important to listen to the concerns of the protesters.
Al Zein believes that the solution to the crisis will come from external powers. "It will come soon and it will be an Arab resolution ... perhaps it will be settled like the Taif accords [which brought the civil war to an end]."
Rula Abi Nader, a Maronite Christian, agreed that a civil war is unlikely. "What is different this time is that both sides are rallying around the Lebanese flag. This shows that they have the same interests, and are unlikely to raise weapons against each other".
Although she considers herself an "independent" she does admit to having leanings towards Aoun, and hopes that the protesters succeed in bringing down the government.
Rula stresses that it is not odd that the Christian leader is allied to the secretary-general of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, since "both men are wise and work in the interest of Lebanon", she said, adding that Nasrallah's patriotism to Lebanon "could not be doubted".
"What we need in Lebanon is an unknown personality that has a clean slate. All the current politicians have blood on their hands," she says.
Jihad Kazzaz, who recently returned to the UAE from Beirut, said that with rising unemployment and mass emigration from the country, the state of the economy is a bigger concern than a civil war.
"The Lebanese have seen what civil war can do and they would do whatever it takes to stop it from happening again," he said, adding that although he believes the government could fall, he hopes it doesn't.
A Lebanese Druze who only wished to be identified as 'Rashad', says that recent events in his country have forced him to switch off his television.
"Conditions now are worse than they were during the civil war. There was money, there was work and the fighting was only in the outskirts then," he said. However, like many others, he does not expect a return to civil war.
"I'm proud of [Prime Minister Fouad] Siniora and his stance and I don't think the government will fall. Many countries, including the Arab states, are supporting it," he said, while conceding that the demonstrators have a right to have their say "as long they are peaceful".
Yaacoub Daniel, who comes from Al Asharafieh, a predominantly Christian district of Beirut, says that the demonstrators cannot be ignored, and that even if they don't succeed in bringing down the government, "something is bound to happen".
"Both sides have made very strong points. But shops are closed and the economy is haemorrhaging. The tension is rising and I'm afraid of what might happen. The resumption of talks is the only way to resolve this matter."