On 13 November 2006, Shiite ministers backed by
Hezbollah and
Amal resigned from Siniora's cabinet. This took place on the eve of the day when the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon trying the murderers of Rafik Hariri was to be discussed in a cabinet meeting. Although there were only six resigning ministers, nearly 40% of the Lebanese MPs are in the opposition. and Prime Minister Siniora at the
White House South Lawn on Tuesday, April 18, 2006 The Lebanese opposition claimed that this resignation meant that the Siniora Government was not a legitimate one because it did not represent all religious groups in Lebanon, namely the Shiite Lebanese. According to the constitution, the government is legal as long as it has two-thirds of the ministers, and so the majority believed the Siniora government was still a totally legal cabinet. On 1 December 2006, the parliamentary minority, primarily the pro-Syrian parties of Amal, Hezbollah and the
Free Patriotic Movement of
Michael Aoun launched a campaign of street demonstrations with the goal of getting veto power in the government. The country was further put into paralysis when the opposition refused to attend the parliament and vote for a new president, after Emile Lahoud's presidential term expired. This meant the Fuad Siniora was an acting president until the new president was voted in. On 7 May 2008, Hezbollah, Amal and the
Syrian Social Nationalist Party, among others, launched an armed strike against Beirut. The
Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, the Government's Grand Serail, and houses of majority leaders, Saad Hariri and
Walid Jumblatt, were all put under siege. Mount Lebanon was also attacked in the operation. Revenge attacks broke out in other areas of Lebanon. ==Post-premiership==